Grueling 12-hour testimony from Bauer’s sexual assault accuser comes to a close
LOS ANGELES — At the end of 12 hours of grueling, often emotional testimony from the woman accusing Trevor Bauer of sexual assault, the woman reminded the court Wednesday the central reason behind her request for a restraining order against the Dodgers pitcher.
“I did not consent to bruises all over my body that sent me to the hospital and having that done to me while I was unconscious,” she testified.
The hearing in L.A Superior Court is to determine whether a temporary restraining order against Bauer should be extended to the full five years allowed under state law. Yet it is unfolding as a de facto trial with both sides represented by high-powered law firms presenting mountains of evidence.
Attorneys on both sides had told Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman the proceeding was expected to take three to four days. Thursday will be the fourth day and several witnesses are scheduled to be called. It is unclear whether Bauer will testify, although he is on his accuser’s witness list.
In a July court appearance, the accuser’s attorneys estimated her testimony would take about two hours. Instead, she testified six hours Monday, three hours Tuesday and nearly all morning Wednesday, walking the court through her sexual encounters with Bauer on April 21 and May 16 and the medical care she received after the second encounter.
The cross-examination by Shawn Holley, Bauer’s lead attorney, meticulously dissected reams of Instagram direct messages and phone text messages from the accuser to four people: Bauer, the woman’s male cousin, her best friend, and her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor.
Holley attempted to establish that the messages provided evidence of the woman’s state of mind, her activities and whether she truly should be granted a restraining order. The woman was asked to explain numerous inconsistencies and messages that appeared to ridicule Bauer.
She was asked about a text to her AA sponsor after she had been granted the temporary restraining order in which she said that Bauer could slap her in the vagina if he gave her $15 million.