Trevor Bauer’s sexual assault hearing took place from Aug. 16 to 19 and featured four witnesses including his accuser who testified over multiple days. In court, attorneys for Bauer reiterated inconsistencies in the woman’s account and called into question numerous communications she had with her friends and family where she referred to the encounters as consensual and later appear to suggest she was attempting a shakedown.
The Daily Mail reports texts to the accuser from her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor stated referenced the Dodgers star pitcher when writing, “Give me 50 million and just slap my c–t” and another that stated, “Hey b—h, pretty soon it’ll be rich b—h.” The sponsor told the accuser to “secure the bag.”
The accuser testified for over 9 hours about her account of what transpired from mid-April through the present day. While her direct examination was full of emotion per court transcripts, it was largely reported that she grew frustrated during cross-examination by Bauer’s attorneys, repeatedly responding to questions by stating, “I don’t know”, “possibly”, or that her comments were “sarcastic”. She also claimed that she hadn’t included what Bauer’s team referred to as “relevant communications” to the court in her declaration because she had deleted the messages, although the Judge asked her more than once if she had any memory of the conversations even if she didn’t have the physical record of the messages.
Additional messages from the woman to friends and family state her encounter with Bauer was consensual. One thread involved a friend instructing the accuser not to post a happy image on Instagram because she is “supposed to be struggling mentally.” The friend would add, “You’re a ghost. He ruined your life. You’re basically just trying to not kill yourself and stay out of the mental world. You’re [not] a happy summer beach babe posting on IG”. To which she replied “OMG YES… Thank you for catching that OMG”.
Included in testimonies were the SANE nurse Kelly Valencia who examined the woman in May and authenticated the medical report from her examination, and a forensic medical expert, Dr. Jennifer Hammers, called by Bauer’s team.
Dr. Hammers testified that the San Diego woman’s written declaration and testimony of what happened were not consistent with the injuries in her medical reports. She testified that she had nothing more than surface-level bruising and that there was no physical evidence she had been punched, as she alleged. Specifically, there were no pattern marks and no injuries beyond surface-level bruising; unremarkable findings from multiple MRIs and CT Scans showed no injuries.
Bauer universally pled the fifth amendment, according to court documents.
Following all testimonies, Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman delivered a 10-minute ruling with two outcomes: dissolving the temporary restraining order and denying a permanent restraining order. The judge found the encounters were consensual, and the woman’s initial declaration – on which she was granted the temporary ex parte restraining order – was “materially misleading” to the court. The Judge ruled that while there was a “dating relationship”, that no sexual or physical assault occurred because the woman had consented to the acts at issue.
“We consider that, in the context of a sexual encounter, when a woman says ‘no’, she should be believed. So what about when she says ‘yes’”?” the judge stated. “Respondent did not pursue petitioner. He did not threaten petitioner to coerce her into sexual activity. And he didn’t threaten her after they had engaged in sexual activity.”
The judge added, “Petitioner complains in her testimony that one of her problems has been her desire to seek attention. Communications to her friends, which are entered into evidence, indicate she was excited for the attention to her and, eventually, the damage that attention would have on the respondent. Petitioner had and has the right to engage in any kind of sex as a consenting adult that she wants with another consenting adult. She was not ambiguous about wanting rough sex in the parties’ first encounter and wanting rougher sex in the second encounter.”
The Judge continued, “Petitioner was clear that was she extremely stressed and had extreme anxiety when respondent sent messages. She also testified that she was extremely stressed and anxious when he didn’t send messages. That isn’t rational… Respondent did not pursue petitioner. She pursued him. Petitioner’s testimony made clear that she was upset that respondent didn’t call her when she expected him to and that during and after their first in-person encounter, petitioner wanted more of a relationship with respondent than the facts, as she presented them, could realistically be expected… Her fear that respondent might do something if he knew she went to the hospital had no factual basis. Her fear that respondent might do something if he knew she had filed a request for a restraining order does not appear to have had any factual basis.”
“We are grateful to the Los Angeles Superior Court for denying the request for a permanent restraining order and dissolving the temporary restraining order against Mr. Bauer today,” Shawn Holley, one of Bauer’s attorneys, said in a statement to ESPN. “We have expected this outcome since the petition was filed in June. But we appreciate the court reviewing all the relevant information and testimony to make this informed decision.”
Bauer has been on administrative leave by Major League Baseball since July 2, most recently extended to Aug. 27. While the Pasadena Police Department’s investigation is ongoing, the burden of proof in family court is the lowest possible threshold and may weigh into the accuser’s credibility given the Judge’s comments. Major League Baseball is also continuing its independent investigation. Bauer has not been charged with a crime.
