Oregon State ace guilty of molesting 6-year-old
PORTLAND, Ore. — Luke Heimlich, a standout pitcher for Oregon State’s top-ranked baseball team, pleaded guilty to a single count of molesting a 6-year-old girl when he was a teenager.
Heimlich’s criminal history was reported by the Oregonian/ Oregon Live on Thursday, a day or two before he’s slated to pitch in this weekend’s regional final against Vanderbilt.
The winner advances to the College World Series.
The lefthander from Puyallup, Wash., is projected to be an early-round pick in next week’s Major League Baseball draft. MLB spokesman Michael Teevan said the league had no comment.
In an editorial accompanying the article, the newspaper said it learned about Heimlich’s 2012 conviction while doing a routine background check before running a profile on him.
Heimlich failed to renew his registration as a sex offender in Oregon within 10 days of his most recent birthday and was cited in Benton County on a misdemeanor charge that was dismissed last month, according to court records reviewed by the AP.
That citation led the Oregonian to the Washington state case and it obtained those records using a public information act request.
Heimlich did not respond to requests for comment from the newspaper. Coach Pat Casey declined to comment. Heimlich’s attorney, Stephen Ensor, did not return a call from the AP.
Oregon State spokesman Steve Clark declined to say when the school became aware of Heimlich’s status as a registered sex offender or to answer questions about the case, citing federal laws that protect student privacy.
The state police provide the school with a list of registered sex offenders who are affiliated with the campus on a regular basis, Clark said, and the school then interviews each person and puts safeguards in place to protect other students and staff.
Clark said he didn’t know if publicity about the case would lead to any changes in this weekend’s rotation.