Pittsburgh, PA – Police arrested Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitcher Felipe Vazquez on Tuesday after he was charged with multiple felonies related to an illicit relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) began investigating after the young girl’s mother discovered text messages, photographs, and a pornographic video sent to her daughter by the major league pitcher, ESPN reported.
Vazquez, 27, was allegedly involved with the now-15-year-old girl for at least two years.
The police report said that in July, Vazquez sent the girl a video of himself performing a sex act, ESPN reported.
On July 23, the mother sent a text message to Vazquez that included screenshots of his messages and told him that her daughter was a minor.
Vasquez was arrested by the FDLE on Sept. 17 with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police, ESPN reported.
Police seized several electronic devices at the time of his arrest.
When he was questioned by police, he admitted to having “sex but not really” with the girl because “he could not fit his penis entirely into the Victim’s vagina,” the criminal complaint said.
He was charged with statutory sexual assault of a minor 11 years or older, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors, all of which are felonies, ESPN reported.
Vazquez was also charged with misdemeanor indecent assault of a person less than 16 years old.
Additional charges were expected to be filed soon, ESPN reported.
Vazquez was arraigned on Tuesday afternoon and the judge ordered him held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh, and said that additional charges from both Pennsylvania and Florida were expected.
Major League Baseball (MLB) placed the Pirates’ pitcher on paid administrative leave, according to ESPN.
However, sources said MLB was not launching an independent investigation because they planned to use the findings of the police investigation to guide their decisions regarding potential discipline from the league.
“Today we were made aware of an active law enforcement investigation involving Felipe Vazquez and his subsequent arrest,” Pirates President Frank Coonelly said, according to ESPN. “We take this matter, and these charges in particular, extremely seriously. We have informed the Commissioner’s Office of the investigation and arrest.”
Vazquez, a two-time all-star in MLB, was one of the best relief pitchers in the league in 2019.
He will make $4.5 million this year and has made $8.6 million over his five-year career, ESPN reported.