Bauer accuser explains decisions
LOS ANGELES — A California woman detailed what she described as her reluctant and fearful decision to come forward with allegations that Trevor Bauer assaulted her Tuesday in court proceedings during which the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher’s lawyers accused her of deceiving the court and she was forced to answer questions about high-profile sex partners she had before Bauer.
The woman said police learned of the alleged assault only because emergency room personnel informed them of the nature of her injuries. She then requested a temporary restraining order because, contrary to what police told her to expect, he was not arrested, adding that she was “terrified of him and what he can do to me.”
It was her second day on the witness stand, following earlier testimony in which the woman described alleged assaults that occurred after he choked her unconscious during sex on two occasions this spring. Bauer has been on leave, continuing to draw his $40 million salary, as Major League Baseball undertakes an investigation following the initial filing of her allegations in June.
The woman, whom Bauer’s lawyers have accused of encouraging him to have everrougher sex with her in pursuit of publicity and forcing him into a financial settlement, said she was initially “100 percent convinced” that she was going to keep the alleged abuse secret because she was afraid of being “slut-shamed.”
“I remember thinking, you know, that anyone I would tell this to is going to say, ‘She asked for it,’ ” the woman said.
During aggressive cross-examination in which Bauer’s attorney Shawn Holley suggested the woman had left out relevant text messages from a court filing, Holley also asked the woman about past sexual relationships with other baseball players.
“I’m not asking you this because I’m slut-shaming you at all,” Holley said, adding that she offered “no judgment” on the woman’s relationships. The woman tearfully refused to answer a question about whether she had a relationship with one of the other players, saying, “I’m not bringing him into this.” But Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman instructed her to answer the question.
The woman has testified that, during her second encounter with Bauer, he punched her head, cheekbones, jaw and vagina while she was recovering from being choked unconscious. Her injuries from that alleged assault were detailed Tuesday, including by the forensic nurse examiner who had performed a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam on her. The medical professional described a more significant bruise than she had ever encountered on a subject’s vaginal area.
“I had never seen that type of bruising in that area,” forensic nurse examiner Kelly Valencia testified.
Jon Fetterolf, another Bauer attorney, referred to what he described as the woman’s medical history of self-harm and asked if it was possible she had caused some of her own injuries. The forensic nurse examiner indicated she did not suspect that.
The woman was visited by detectives with the Pasadena (Calif.) Police Department. She said that at two points during their investigation — which included her making a “cold call” with police present in an effort to get Bauer to inculpate himself — a detective told her they were ready to arrest Bauer. After roughly six weeks passed with no arrest, she said, she requested the temporary restraining order because she felt she “had to get protection for (herself ) in the meantime.”