Former Pirates pitcher Felipe Vasquez has been found guilty of abuse charges stemming from a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl in 2017.
According to USA Today:
The jury in Westmoreland County late Thursday returned a guilty verdict on 15 of the charges facing Vazquez, including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact or communication with a minor, indecent assault and corruption of a minor. Investigators said the incidents occurred in 2017, when the girl was 13 and 14.
During three hours of testimony Thursday, Vazquez, 29, maintained that he was unaware the girl was a minor during their relationship, which began in 2017 when she reached out on Instagram to wish him a happy birthday.
Despite the slew of guilty verdicts, Vasquez faces additional charges of child pornography and unlawful contact with a minor in Florida. The victim moved to Florida in 2018 and Vasquez attempted to continue the relationship there.
The victim said that she and Vasquez had sex in his vehicle before a Pirates afternoon game.
When Vasquez was arrested in 2019, he claimed that he thought the victim was 17, the legal age of consent.
Vasquez and the victim met on social media. The two exchanged semi-nude pictures of each other. In 2019, years after their relationship began, the victim sent Vasquez a picture of her in her underwear.
According to the report, Vasquez responded: “Wow look at you. Not the little kid I met three years ago anymore.”
Vasquez sent pictures of himself as well. Authorities were alerted after the victim’s mother found a pic of the pitcher in his underwear on her daughter’s phone.
Vasquez was a two-time NL All-Star in 2018 and 2019, totaling 65 saves during those two seasons.