Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez faces 21 new child sex charges for sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl
A Major League Baseball star who was previously arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2017 is now facing 21 new counts ranging from child pornography to unlawful contact with a minor.
Felipe Vazquez, a 28-year-old relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and an all-star in 2018 and 2019, first came to the attention of authorities in Pennsylvania in August after they were contacted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to the Daily Mail.
The mother of a 13-year-old girl who is believed to be Vazquez's victim had contacted the Lee County Sheriff's Office to report a sexual relationship between the pitcher and her daughter.
During their investigation, authorities learned that the pair had initially met at PNC Park in Pittsburgh and that they soon started talking to each other on social media. It escalated soon after, with Vazquez confessing that he drove to meet the girl in Scottdale in 2017.
He said he invited her into her Ford Mustang, pulled down her pants, and attempted to have sex with her, but had to leave because he had to attend a game that night. An incident report states he "placed her on his lap and attempted to penetrate her vagina with his penis, but was unsuccessful."
The 28-year-old claimed he initially "refused to communicate with her due to her age" but admitted he continued to text the girl, who is now 15, even after trying to have sex with her, and that he received explicit photos from her as recently as July this year.
Police seized his iPhone XS and Apple MacBook Pro during a search of his Pennsylvania residence and found seven photographs and three videos of a girl, said to be the victim, in "various stages of nudity".
At his second preliminary hearing on Tuesday, November 19, Vazquez, who had already been charged with sexually assaulting a minor, was indicted with 10 counts of child pornography, 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor, and one count of corruption of a minor.
All charges are third-degree felonies that carry a potential prison sentence of seven years each. An arrest warrant in Florida has accused him of one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors.
However, a judge denied local prosecutors' motion to extradite Vazquez, stating that he would stay in Pennsylvania until his charges there were dealt with.
Following the charges against the 28-year-old, who is currently on a four-year $22.5 million contract with the Pirates, he has been placed on administrative leave by the MLB.