Attorneys for Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer filed copies of text messages in Los Angeles Superior Court this Tuesday. They purport the exchanges to be between the woman accusing him of sexual assault and her cousin, written and sent in the aftermath of a sexual encounter with Bauer.
Bauer’s attorneys claimed the text messages show his accuser admitted in writing that at least one of the sexual encounters between the two was “consensual.”
The messages in question were sent on May 16, the morning after the second of two sexual encounters, according to Bauer.
“It was consensual but like I didn[‘t] expect two black eyes,” the messages read, according to screenshots obtained by TMZ. Bauer “took it too far,” the accuser appears to have written.
In a statement to The Los Angeles Times, the alleged victim’s attorney, Bryan Freedman, accused Bauer’s defense team of “deliberately twisting the tone of text messages exchanged with an assault victim within hours of her being attacked to try and minimize the long-lasting impact on her physical and mental well-being to this day.”
Freedman released a photo of the victim’s face, swollen and sporting two black eyes, to TMZ Sports. “Look at this picture,” he told TMZ. “No one—absolutely no one—can consent to this, logically or legally.”
According to Freedman, the alleged victim and her family requested the photo be released.
Bauer was put on administrative leave by the Dodgers on July 2 after his accuser obtained a temporary restraining order against him and her allegations of assault became public.
She acknowledged in court filings for the restraining order that although she consented overall to having sex with Bauer, he exceeded the scope of that consent by allegedly engaging in violent and abusive conduct during the act, including choking her to the point of unconsciousness.
Bauer denies these allegations and has said all encounters between the two were entirely consensual.
The texts at issue controversy were filed by Bauer’s legal team in opposition to his accuser’s request for a restraining order.
Bauer’s leave from the Dodgers continues through August 6. He is presently the highest-paid pitcher in major League Baseball after signing a three-year, $102 million deal with the Dodgers last winter.
Extension of that leave is subject to the approval of MLB administrators and the Major League Baseball Players Association.