Dodgers Trevor Bauer to take Fifth Amendment in court hearing Thursday – The Athletic

Content warning: This story includes allegations of sexual assault that may be difficult to read and emotionally upsetting.

The attorney for Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer told the Los Angeles Superior Court judge that Bauer will take the Fifth Amendment when he takes the stand Thursday in the hearing of a woman seeking a five-year restraining order against him.

Bauers attorney, Shawn Holley, told Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman on Wednesday that Bauer will only say his name and what he does for a living, citing a pending criminal investigation by police in Pasadena, Calif. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against self-incrimination. There are still ongoing investigations by the Pasadena Police Department and MLB into allegations of sexual assault, but Bauer has yet to be formally charged with a crime.

The 27-year-old San Diego woman accusing Bauer of sexual assault concluded her three days of testimony Wednesday. Bauer, who is currently on paid administrative leave which has been extended to Friday, has been present in court during the womans testimony. Bauer's representatives have repeatedly said everything that occurred during the two encounters was consensual.

Holley continued a second day of cross-examination of the woman by reading from text messages the woman sent friends when court documents were first filed in June. Holleys questioning suggested the woman was not seeking protection by filing those documents, but was trying to hurt Bauer.

Holley read texts from the woman which included statements such as Media is freaking out. On my side, and Its the best thing I could have hoped for, to which the woman clarified by saying she was happy to see the media and the public on social media were not attacking her.

The woman alleges that Bauer punched her, choked her with her own hair until she lost consciousness, then had anal sex with her, which she had not consented to. On Tuesday, the woman testified that she was just as afraid of the social consequences as the physical ones of coming forward about her meetings with Bauer. She then described the physical pain and trauma she suffered following a second meeting with Bauer, and the subsequent hours-long sexual assault exam.

The woman was granted a temporary restraining order until a hearing could be held and evidence presented for a long-term order. Holley asked the woman why she felt she needed protection from Bauer when he made no contact with her in nearly a month when she filed the order.

That was what worried me, the woman replied, saying Bauers silence after constantly checking on her in the days following the second incident made her fear he was planning something and may seek her out in San Diego.

Did you have some reason to believe he was going to come to your house 130 miles away? Holley asked.

Yes, I did, she said.

The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Bauer had a temporary order of protection placed against him in June 2020, after an Ohio woman accused him of physical abuse and threatening her.

The legal team seeking the order for the woman said that Bauer was the last remaining witness they intended to call at the hearing. Holley asked Gould-Saltman to allow Bauer to avoid taking the stand entirely.

Most of the hearing has consisted of testimony from the woman herself, along with brief appearances on the stand from the nurse who gave her a sexual assault exam after the second encounter, a doctor called by Bauers team to analyze those findings, and the womans best friend.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

(Photo: Meg Oliphant / Getty Images)

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Dodgers Trevor Bauer to take Fifth Amendment in court hearing Thursday - The Athletic