Vazquez accused of sex crimes
PITTSBURGH — Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vazquez was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony charges, including statutory sexual assault, soliciting a child and pornography, and was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball.
Vazquez, 28, was taken into custody by state police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors, both felonies, stemming from an investigation in Florida. He was later charged in Westmoreland County, east of Pittsburgh, with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person under 16 years old.
It was not immediately known if the charges in Pennsylvania were related to or independent of the Florida investigation.
Vazquez was arraigned via video from the Allegheny County jail, according to the Pittsburgh PostGazette. He was denied bond, with the judge saying she believed Vazquez was a flight risk, the newspaper reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it began i nvestigating Vazquez in August after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vazquez and a teenage girl living in Lee County, Florida. Vazquez, who lives in Saint Cloud, Florida, and the victim began the relationship when the girl was 13, authorities said.
The girl, now 15, allegedly received a text message from Vazquez in July in which he was performing a sex act.