An Arizona woman who accused former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been charged with defrauding the baseball player. An indictment unsealed Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court charges the woman with fraud and theft by extortion, both felonies, but doesn't provide details about the accusations. It says Bauer and one other person were defrauded in a scheme that potentially spanned several years, reports the AP, which does not typically identify people who say they have been victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly.
The woman sued Bauer in December 2022, accusing him of a rape that she said resulted in pregnancy in late 2020. Court records didn't list an attorney for the woman in the fraud case, and the lawyer representing her in her lawsuit didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking additional comment. Bauer was never arrested or charged. He countersued, saying he had one consensual sexual encounter with the woman in 2020 and then accused her of faking the pregnancy to extort money from him. Attorneys for the former Los Angeles Dodgers player have said the woman made several million-dollar demands of him, per the AP.
Bauer said he ultimately paid $8,761 for expenses he believed to be related to the pregnancy and its subsequent termination. She later said that she ultimately decided not to terminate the pregnancy but had a miscarriage. The woman is scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal charges on April 26. In a recorded video statement released Tuesday, Bauer said he is innocent, adding, "What else do I have to do to prove that this entire situation has been a massive lie?" Bauer is trying to revive his career after serving a suspension for violating MLB's domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He was suspended after another woman accused him of beating and sexually abusing her—an accusation the pitcher also denied. Bauer signed a deal this spring to pitch five games for Mexico's Diablos Rojos.
(More
Trevor Bauer stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
