On Tuesday, a 27-year-old woman from San Diego obtained a temporary restraining order from the Los Angeles Superior Court against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer. The woman's request for the order, which has been obtained by The Athletic, describes two incidents in which Bauer allegedly assaulted her, and includes a hospital examination report that states she suffered "assault by manual strangulation" during a sexual encounter with Bauer.
The court filings describe, in graphic detail, two separate encounters that the woman says she had with Bauer, both of which started consensually but turned into assault. During the first encounter, which the woman says occurred in April, Bauer allegedly wrapped the woman's hair around her neck and choked her until she lost consciousness. The woman says that she later woke up, face down on the bed and disoriented, and realized that Bauer was penetrating her anus, which she did not consent to.
The woman's official declaration describes another encounter, which she says took place on May 15, during which Bauer again choked her during sex until she lost consciousness, at which point Bauer began punching her. From The Athletic:
The report says on the night of May 15, 2021, Bauer invited the woman to his house again and this time asked her to agree on a safe word. About five minutes into sex, she said that he began choking her again, at which point she lost consciousness and “was unable to speak or move my body.” She says when she regained consciousness, Bauer was punching her head: “This was the first punch I felt but it is very possible that Trevor had already been punching and scratching the right side of my face while I was unconscious. Trevor then punched me hard with a closed fist to the left side of my jaw, the left side of my head, and both cheekbones. I remember this vividly and it was extremely startling and painful. I was absolutely frozen and terrified. I could not speak or move. After punching me several times, he then flipped me back onto my stomach and began choking me with hair. I lost consciousness again.”
The woman said she had a terrible pain behind both of her ears and detailed tasting blood, as if her lip was split open. The woman said that when she regained consciousness, she was crying and shaking violently and that Bauer said to her repeatedly: “You’re safe. I’m here. You’re safe.” He began scratching her back and whispered to her, “I would never do those things to you if it wasn’t sexually.”
The Athletic reports that the woman provided the court with multiple pictures that were taken after the second encounter, which show her with a visibly swollen and bruised face. The declaration also states that the woman went to the emergency room the day after the second encounter and was diagnosed with an acute head injury and assault by manual strangulation.
Bauer's camp has denied the allegations. His agent provided The Athletic with a statement, which claimed that all of Bauer's sexual encounters with the woman were consensual, and that no assault could have possibly occurred because the woman had requested rough sex and continued to send friendly text messages to Bauer after the alleged assaults. From The Athletic:
That statement reads: “Mr. Bauer had a brief and wholly consensual sexual relationship initiated by [the woman] beginning in April 2021. We have messages that show [her] repeatedly asking for ‘rough’ sexual encounters involving requests to be ‘choked out’ and slapped in the face.
“In both of their encounters, [the woman] drove from San Diego to Mr. Bauer’s residence in Pasadena, Calif. where she went on to dictate what she wanted from him sexually and he did what was asked. Following each of her only two meetings with Mr. Bauer, [the woman] spent the night and left without incident, continuing to message Mr. Bauer with friendly and flirtatious banter. In the days following their second and final encounter, [the woman] shared photos of herself and indicated that she had sought medical care for a concussion. Mr. Bauer responded with concern and confusion, and [the woman] was neither angry nor accusatory.
“Mr. Bauer and [the woman] have not corresponded in over a month and have not seen each other in over six weeks. Her basis for filing a protection order is nonexistent, fraudulent, and deliberately omits key facts, information, and her own relevant communications. Any allegations that the pair’s encounters were not 100% consensual are baseless, defamatory, and will be refuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The woman also told the court that she reported the alleged assaults to the Pasadena Police Department, which The Athletic has confirmed is actively investigating the case. As part of her restraining order request, the woman provided the court with her account of a recorded phone conversation she had with Bauer after their second encounter, which she says was initiated and recorded at the request of the police. The woman says that during that call she asked Bauer to explain what he did to her while she was unconscious, at which point Bauer admitted to punching her in the buttocks, but then changed the subject when she pressed him for more details.
The woman was granted a temporary restraining order by the court, and a hearing has been set for July 23, at which point Bauer will have the opportunity to respond to the allegations against him.
