Los Angeles Dodgers star pitcher Trevor Bauer, who is currently on administrative leave amid an investigation over alleged sexual assault in California, was the subject of a temporary restraining order filed by a different woman in Ohio last year.
The woman sought the order in June 2020, roughly a year after her on-and-off relationship with Bauer ended, according to Bauer’s representatives. That was the same year in which Bauer won the prestigious Cy Young Award as the National League’s best pitcher. At the time, Bauer was a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. Bauer then signed a three-year, $102 million deal with the Dodgers this past February that includes $40 million in 2021, the highest single-season salary in Major League Baseball history.
News of the protection order filed in Ohio was first reported by the Washington Post, based on sealed court records the newspaper was able to obtain, alongside allegations that the Ohio woman suffered bruises on her face after Bauer punched and choked her during sex without consent, her attorney told the news outlet.
Joe Darwal, the woman’s current attorney, told NBC News in an email that his “client had no interest in coming forward about her experience as she feared the possible consequences of doing so.” But once the Washington Post “reached out for comment regarding documents they received from third parties, she was left with no other choice but to come forward and confirm the documents they received.”
““The MLB should be applauded for their handling of this investigation,” Darwal said. “Although they could not have known of our client’s story prior to the tragic events in California, their approach is both thorough and respectful. Our client is currently assisting the MLB in this investigation; however, as the process is ongoing I cannot comment further at this time.”
Darwal is not the same lawyer who helped the woman file for a restraining order against Bauer last year. Timothy Hess, the woman’s former attorney, filed for the order of protection on her behalf.
The former attorney did not respond to NBC News’ request for comment, but he told the Washington Post that the woman sought the order after Bauer allegedly threaten to disseminate a video of them having sex to a member of the woman’s family. The order was the result of an “ex parte” proceeding, temporarily granted by a Cuyahoga County judge without hearing from the opposing side, the Washington Post reported.
In a statement to NBC News, Bauer said he has been the victim of a “pattern of disturbing behavior by this woman and her attorneys,” adding that the “baseless allegations” reported on the Washington Post came from “a woman who has not only harassed and physically assaulted me but who also attempted to extort me for millions of dollars last year in exchange for her not coming forward with false claims.”
“This is a continuation by the woman and her attorneys to make good on their threats to harm me by perpetuating a false narrative. This has been a game to her from the beginning but my life is not a game and I won’t stand by idly and allow this conduct to continue,” Bauer said.
Jon Fetterolf and Rachel Luba, Bauer’s representatives, told NBC News in an email that the MLB player had an “on-and-off wholly consensual relationship” with the woman from 2016 to 2019.
Despite multiple requests by Bauer to cease all contact and end their causal relationship after he left Ohio, the woman “persisted in proactively contacting” Bauer in an attempt to continue a relationship, Fetterolf and Luba said. The woman then resorted to threats and “filed a bogus protection petition as a ruse to demand millions of dollars” after Bauer refused to continue a relationship with her, according to the representatives.
According to Fetterolf and Luba, the woman withdrew her protection order petition after Bauer, through counsel, “refused her demands, and informed her that her conduct was nothing short of extortion.” She also went on to find new counsel and threatened a lawsuit, Fetterolf and Luba said.
The Washington Post reported that court records and legal correspondence show that the “Ohio woman dismissed the protection order six weeks later, after Bauer’s attorneys threatened legal action.” She then drafted a civil suit that was never filed, the newspaper reported.
“What started out as our client’s attempt to protect herself — first by filing a protective order — turned into months of additional fear, stress and continuous threats. Ultimately, our client made the decision that moving forward with any legal action was not worth the potential public shaming and baseless lawsuits threatened by Bauer’s team. She never wanted any of this public,” Kendra Barkoff Lamy, a spokesperson for the woman, and Darwal told the Washington Post in a statement.
The Ohio woman’s allegations are now posing a new test for the MLB organization, which is currently investigating Bauer over disturbing sexual assault allegations from a woman in California.
The 27-year-old California woman provided graphic details and photos of her alleged encounters with Bauer in a request for a domestic violence restraining order filed last month.
In the temporary order request filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, the woman said she consented to sex with Bauer on two separate occasions earlier this year, but accused him of doing things that she did not consent to during intercourse.
She alleged that Bauer choked her until she lost consciousness, repeatedly punched her in the face and her vagina and gave her injuries that required hospitalization, according to the request.
Bauer and his team previously told NBC News that the California woman “had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship” with the baseball player. According to Fetterolf, “her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications.”
“Any allegations that the pair’s encounters were not 100 percent consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added.
The temporary restraining order was granted last month following the request and a hearing has been scheduled for Monday to determine if it should become permanent.
The Los Angeles Dodgers did not respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
