GAME OVER

Ex-MLB All-Star Closer Found Guilty of Sexually Assaulting 13-Year-Old Girl

Felipe Vazquez was convicted of 15 counts, including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with minor, and corruption of minors.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez was convicted on Thursday of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl who reached out to him on Instagram in 2017. The Pennsylvania jury found Vazquez, a two-time MLB All-Star player, guilty on 15 counts, including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and indecent assault and corruption of a minor. He was cleared of 10 other charges. “The jury believed he used his position as a professional athlete to prey upon a young girl,” said Assistant District Attorney Jim Lazar.

Vazquez, 29, maintained at trial that he didn’t know the girl—who reached out to him online to wish him a happy birthday in 2017—was a minor. The prosecution argued that Vazquez was well aware of her age based on how young she looked and the fact that he called her “kid” in a handful of text messages. In other messages, he called the girl “slave” and “my possession.” Vazquez still has pending charges in Florida and Missouri involving the same girl.