Seth Udinski, FISM News
In a surprising ruling, a court in Los Angeles did not issue a permanent restraining order for the protection of an anonymous 27-year-old woman against L.A. Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. In addition, the previous temporary restraining order against Bauer has been dissolved.
This is a confusing turn in the case of sexual assault against Trevor Bauer. According to the woman, Bauer had violently abused her without consent and injured her to the point where she needed to be hospitalized. Bauer’s legal team claimed that the parameters for their encounter were established when they met. Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman agreed, ruling that the liaison between them was consensual. ESPN said in a report that the court determined the woman’s “injuries were not the result of anything she verbally objected to.” The judge stated,
If she set limits and he exceeded them, this case would’ve been clear. But she set limits without considering all the consequences, and respondent did not exceed limits that the petitioner set.
The woman testified for a total of nine hours over several days, while Bauer pleaded the 5th Amendment when he was called to testify on Thursday.
Many sports fans are baffled that a legal resolution to this case has still not been reached. Bauer has been on an administrative leave that has been extended multiple times since early July, and the Pasadena Police Department has been investigating the case all summer, with no apparent results. Bauer’s current leave is set to end on Friday August 20, but it is likely Major League Baseball will extend it again until the case becomes more clear. For now, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner is not legally guilty, but still also not allowed back on the mound.