Trevor Bauer Will Not Face Criminal Charges For Sexual Assault (Despite His Lawyers Admitting He Committed Sexual Assault)

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have decided not to bring criminal charges for sexual assault against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. (I posted about this case back in July and August 2021.)

In a statement provided to The Athletic, the Los Angeles County district attorney stated:

After a thorough review of the available evidence, including the civil restraining order proceedings, witness statements and the physical evidence, the People are unable to prove the relevant charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Craig Calcaterra calls that decision "stupid and wrong", but he is not surprised. It's not that evidence against Bauer does not exist – Bauer's own lawyers admitted their client committed sexual assault while his victim was unconscious – but comments from the judge [California Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman] overseeing the case make getting a conviction more difficult than it would normally be.

As Calcaterra wrote in today's Cup of Coffee (my emphasis):

As you'll recall, at the restraining order hearing, Bauer's accuser testified under oath that Bauer struck her and sodomized her while she was unconscious. She testified that she did not consent to that. Indeed, being punched and sodomized while unconscious was never even discussed. Bauer presented no evidence to contradict that. What's more, in arguments, his lawyers admitted that that's what happened. They claimed however, with no evidentiary backing and in the face of her testimony to the contrary, that she asked for it. Like, they actually said that. That she wanted to be punched and sodomized while she unconscious. Again, these were arguments. There was no evidence presented to support such claims.

As I noted at the time, I know of no legal theory whatsoever that allows for someone to punch and sodomize an unconscious person. The judge, however, said that one can do anything one wants to an unconscious person as long as the unconscious person didn't explicitly say one could not do so beforehand. That sort of "opt-out" instead of "opt-in" consent is not the law and cannot be the law, especially when it involves an unconscious person because how can an unconscious person change their mind or say anything? When there was zero discussion about that head of time, the baseline HAS to be "you cannot punch or sodomize an unconscious person." It's preposterous to say otherwise. Unless, of course, you were the judge in the restraining order hearing.

Between that pronouncement from the bench — an unnecessary one given that the restraining order petition could've been denied without even talking about that stuff given that Bauer had had attempted no contact with the petitioner since the assault — and between several days of proceedings during which Bauer's attorneys slut-shamed the petitioner and portrayed her as a money-grubbing opportunist, it is not at all surprising that prosecutors were loathe to bring charges. Sexual assault cases are extraordinarily difficult to bring in the best of circumstances. Bringing them against the backdrop of what has already occurred in this case would be exponentially harder. Given that high-profile cases invoke political considerations for prosecutors — losing them is bad for them — not bringing a case against Bauer was always the more likely outcome, even though it seems pretty damn clear to me he committed sexual assault. . . .

Bauer's accuser swore under oath in documents and then testified under oath in open court to the following:

Bauer choked her until she was unconscious;

She did not consent to being beaten or sodomized before she was rendered unconscious (note: as a matter of law, and contrary to the non-germane comments of the judge from the bench last August, an unconscious person cannot legally consent to anything and a conscious person cannot consent to having serious bodily harm inflicted upon them); and

Bauer beat and sodomized her while she was unconscious.

Bauer presented no evidence to contradict those assertions. Indeed, Bauer took the Fifth and Bauer's attorney conceded in argument during the hearing that Bauer choked his accuser until she was unconscious and was violent towards her while she was unconscious. To the extent Bauer's attorneys impeached the accuser's credibility, it pertained to matters surrounding her petition for a restraining order, primarily in connection with calls and texts between the two of them after the incidents at issue. There was no apparent impeachment of her credibility as it related to what occurred between the two of them at Bauer's home.

Major League Baseball's investigation into Bauer's actions is ongoing. For MLB to issue a suspension under its Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, an arrest, criminal charges, or a criminal conviction is not necessary.