Judge Rejects Ban on Trevor Bauer


A Los Angeles judge on Thursday rescinded a temporary restraining order for the Dodgers against star shooter Trevor Bauer, rejecting a woman’s request for a more permanent order against him, who accused him of assaulting her during sex.

Bauer, 30, Under investigation by the Pasadena Police Department Since the 27-year-old accused him of assaulting her in Pasadena, California in May. In late June, the woman requested a temporary restraining order against her, which was issued without Bauer.

This week, though, Bauer’s lawyers debated on his behalf during a four-day hearing in the Los Angeles Supreme Court over whether the restraining order should be overturned or made more permanent (up to five years in California).

Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman ruled that Bauer did not pose a threat to the woman.

In her applications and testimony, the woman said she had contacted Bauer and that the relationship that started as a consensual relationship with an agreed-upon rough sex in April led to non-consensual sexual acts. He also said that he choked with his hair until he lost consciousness. He said that in May Bauer returned to his home in Pasadena and formed a safe word to indicate his desire to stop, but choked again until he lost consciousness and was punched.

Gould-Saltman said the injuries shown in the photos were “terrible”. But the judge later added: “If he had set the limits and exceeded them, this case would have been open. But he set limits without considering all the consequences, and the defendant did not exceed the limits set by the petitioner.”

Bauer’s legal team focused on the woman’s messages to Bauer—at one point, asking her to suffer—that Gould-Saltman said the woman did not request a protection order and therefore “financially misleading

Despite the ruling, Bauer remains under investigation by Pasadena police and Major League Baseball. Bauer was not arrested or charged with a crime. Pasadena Police Department spokesperson Lieutenant Carolyn Gordon declined to comment on Thursday.

MLB placed Bauer Paid administrative leave on July 2. With the approval of the players’ union, the initial seven-day leave was extended several times, with the latest extension hours after Thursday’s hearing. A league official said Bauer’s current leave will expire on Friday but has been postponed to August 27.

“Allegations against Trevor Bauer continue to be investigated by MLB’s Investigations Department as part of our Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy,” an MLB spokesperson said on Thursday. “We will make further comments at an appropriate time.”

Since MLB and the players association enacted its domestic violence policy in 2015, 13 players have been suspended with bans ranging from 15 to 162 games following investigations. Conviction or arrest is not required for suspension, although MLB usually allows criminal process to occur before serving its own sentence. For example, Yankees pitcher Domingo German suspended for 81 games In 2020 – without police intervention – because there was evidence in the league that he was abusing his partner and he cooperated with the investigation.

MLB’s investigation into Bauer covers an incident that surfaced in the US last week. a Washington Post report It detailed how an Ohio woman sought a protective order against him last year after accusing her of punching and strangling her during sex without her consent. The woman withdrew her request six weeks after she filed her application and after Bauer’s lawyers threatened legal action, according to the report, which is based on sealed court records and other documents. Bauer called report He accused her of “a false narrative” and attempted extortion on the woman.

At the hearing in Los Angeles, Bauer did not testify. After the verdict, he stood in front of the courthouse next to his lawyers, Jon Fetterolf and Shawn Holley, while making brief statements.

“We are grateful to the Los Angeles Superior Court for rejecting a request for a permanent restraining order and rescinding the interim restraining order against Mr. Bauer today,” Holley said in a statement.

The woman’s lawyer, Lisa Helfend Meyer, said in a statement she was disappointed with the judge’s decision, but said she hoped Bauer “will voluntarily seek the help she needs to make sure that no other woman in a dating relationship has experienced the same traumatic trauma.” his destiny.”

Meyer’s statement continued: “So he wanted to come forward and put up with the victim’s accusations, which Mr. Bauer knew would inevitably result. Protecting not only yourself, but also other women from the hands of this troublesome man has always been a priority and will continue to be.”

Paul Takakjian, a criminal defense attorney who was not involved in the Bauer case but previously served as the assistant district attorney for Los Angeles County, He said he saw Thursday’s ruling as “perhaps a harbinger of good news” for Bauer in the criminal investigation “because of the meticulousness of discrediting the accuser in the eyes of the judge”.

Takakjian said that the hearing on the restraining order was not a criminal case, “but it was treated almost like a trial in the sense that most suspension hearings take 15 or 20 minutes.”

Takakjian said that for a restraining order, the judge needed clear and convincing evidence that Bauer was an ongoing threat to the woman. But he said the district attorney’s office would need “sufficient evidence beyond reasonable doubt” to convince a jury.

Bauer, who won the National League Cy Young Award in 2020, signed a three-year free agency deal with the Dodgers and a guaranteed $102 million contract last season. He has an 8-5 record and 2.59 ERA for the Dodgers. He has not been on the field since June 28.

Kurt Streeter contributed to the reporting





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