A woman who accused ex-Major League Baseball star pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault was just indicted for fraud and theft by extortion against Bauer and another individual.
What are the details?
The grand jury indictment dated March 19 and filed Monday in the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County indicates that Darcy Adanna Esemonu “knowingly did obtain a benefit from … Trevor Anthony Bauer by means of fraudulent pretenses, representation, promises, or material omissions” and “knowingly did obtain or sought to obtain property or services … by means of a threat to in the future expose a secret or an asserted fact in a social media message or in any other manner” involving another individual, ESPN reported.
Bauer’s attorney told EPSN the other individual is not associated with Bauer.
The sports network said Esemonu didn’t respond to messages seeking comment, and the prosecutor listed on the indictment could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.
More from ESPN:
An arraignment hearing in the case is scheduled for April 26 in Maricopa County. Esemonu filed a lawsuit against Bauer in 2022, later updated in 2023, alleging he sexually assaulted her in 2020, which led to an “unplanned pregnancy.” In court filings, Bauer’s attorneys described the situation as “a single sexual encounter” that “was consensual.” Bauer countersued Esemonu for fraud, saying she was attempting to harass and extort money from him in the wake of similar allegations made by three other women.
In a statement provided to ESPN by his lawyers, Bauer said Esemonu demanded $3.6 million from him and “claimed I forced her to have an abortion” and “when I refused to pay her the $3.6 million she was asking for, she made up a bogus sexual assault claim and filed a civil suit against me.”
Bauer said he paid $8,761 for expenses he believed to be related to the woman’s reported pregnancy and its subsequent termination, the Associated Press reported.
The sports network said attorneys listed for Esemonu in her lawsuit didn’t respond to messages seeking comment.
ESPN said Esemonu reported the alleged assault to the Scottsdale Police Department in December 2022, one week after she filed the suit against Bauer.
Following Esemonu’s allegation, a detective interviewed her, and police reports ESPN obtained indicate she “initially stated she had a miscarriage, but later referred to the miscarriage as an abortion.” The sports network, citing the reports, noted that Esemonu later told the detective she didn’t have an abortion but miscarried prior to going to a clinic in another state. The detective stated that the medical records Esemonu provided “do not indicate” if she “was in fact pregnant,” ESPN reported.
One of Bauer’s attorneys, Anne Chapman, contacted the Scottsdale Police Department in January 2023 to file a criminal complaint accusing Esemonu of “theft by extortion,” the sports network added. In that complaint, Chapman told police Esemonu “had demanded financial compensation from her client for a pregnancy and abortion that was alleged to be false,” ESPN noted.
Remember when?
Last fall, Bauer revealed damning texts reportedly from a different woman who accused him of sexual assault after he and the woman dropped their lawsuits against each other.
Some of those texts:
- “Next victim. Star pitcher for the dodgers.”
- “Net worth is 51 mil”
- “Im going to his house wednesday. I already have my hooks in. You know how I roll.”
- “need daddy to choke me out”
- “Being an absolute WHORE to get in on his 51 million.”
‘What else do I have to do?’
The AP said Bauer has been trying to revive his MLB career after serving a suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy in connection with sexual abuse accusations, which he denied.
The Los Angeles Dodgers released the Cy Young award winner in January 2023; Bauer played last year with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Japan’s Pacific League, the AP said, adding that he signed a deal to pitch five games for Mexico’s Diablos Rojos this spring and made his first appearance in an exhibition against the New York Yankees.
“What else do I have to do to prove that this entire situation has been a massive lie? This is insane,” Bauer said in a recorded video statement released Tuesday. “At what point do I get to go back to work and continue earning a living?”
Criminal Charges Brought Against Trevor Bauer’s Accuseryoutu.be
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