An Arizona woman who accused former major league pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault has been charged with defrauding him.
An indictment which was unsealed Monday in Maricopa County Superior Court charges the woman with fraud and theft by extortion which are both extortion. However, it does not give specific details about her alleged crimes. It says Bauer and another person were caught up in a scheme that potentially spanned several years.
The woman sued Bauer in December 2022, accusing him of rape two years earlier that she said resulted in pregnancy in late 2022.
Court records on Tuesday afternoon did not mention an attorney for the lady in the fraud case, and the lawyer representing her in the lawsuit did not respond to a phone message seeking additional comment.
Bauer was never arrested or charged with sexual assault. Instead, he countersued, stating he had one consensual sexual encounter with the woman in 2020 and then accused her of faking the pregnancy to extort money from him.
His lawyers have said that the woman made several million-dollar demands against him. Trevor said he paid $8,761 for expenses he believed were for the woman’s reported pregnancy and its subsequent termination.
She later reported that she did not terminate the pregnancy, but had a miscarriage. The woman is scheduled to be arraigned on the criminal charges next Friday.
In a recorded video statement released Tuesday, Bauer said he was innocent.
“What else do I have to do to prove that this entire situation has been a massive lie? This is insane,” he said. “At what point do I get to go back to work and continue earning a living?”
Bauer has been fighting to revive his major league career after he was suspended for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He served a suspension after another woman accused him of beating and sexually abusing her; another accusation he denied.
The Los Angeles Dodgers released him in January 2023 and he played last year with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Pacific League. Bauer signed a contract this spring to pitch five matches for Diablos Rojos and appeared for the first time in a spring exhibition against the New York Yankees.
