Trevor Bauer’s sexual assault hearing begins with testimony from his accuser

Trevor Bauer’s hearing on whether the woman who has accused him of sexual assault should be granted a restraining order for the next five years got underway Monday morning after a request by Bauer’s attorneys for a third continuance was denied by L.A. Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman.

Following opening statements, the accuser was the first witness called. She testified for about an hour before court was adjourned for a lunch recess shortly before noon. Her testimony is scheduled to continue this afternoon, and Bauer’s attorneys will have an opportunity to cross-examine her.

The first portion of her testimony established that she is a lifelong baseball fan who became aware of Bauer in February when he was pitching for the Dodgers during spring training. “I noticed that he was closing one eye [while pitching] and ... I’m drawn to people doing unique things. I told my mom about it. That was the first thing that intrigued me about him.”

The San Diego resident testified that on April 18 she created an Instagram story while watching Bauer pitch against the Padres and began it with this message: “Open third eye to rattle @baueroutage.” She tagged Bauer’s account, but because she estimated he had about 400,000 followers, she said she did not expect a response.

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Bauer did respond, and they exchanged Instagram direct messages for three days until she drove to his Pasadena home on the night of April 21 when they had their first of two sexual encounters. One of her attorneys, Lisa Helfend Meyer, said during opening statements that the accuser alleges that Bauer choked her to the point of losing consciousness during what was initially consensual sex. Meyer also alleged that during a second encounter May 15, Bauer again choked her unconscious then engaged in anal sex and punched her in the face, vagina and buttocks.

A few days later, she said, she had two black eyes, a swollen jaw and cheekbones, a split lip and bruising near her vagina, on her gums and on her head. Pictures of her face included in the court filing show bruising under her eyes and a scab on her lip as well as swelling on her jaw and cheekbone.

During the opening statement for Bauer, attorney Shawn Holland argued that when the accuser asked Bauer to stop at several points during their sexual activity, he stopped. “All he can go on is what she’s telling him,” Holland said. “When you get into a rough sex relationship, it’s a continuum.”

Bauer’s accuser testified that she was an alcoholic beginning at age 15 but that she has been sober since January 2020. She said she has been hospitalized for alcoholism “eight to 10 times.”

The hearing began with Bauer’s attorneys requesting a third postponement to review more than 600 pages of the accuser’s medical records they received Friday and to pursue other medical records they have not yet received. The woman’s attorneys opposed the delay.

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Gould-Saltman also ruled that Dr. Ellen Stein, an expert on sexual assault, would be allowed to testify for Bauer’s accuser. Bauer had objected to Stein testifying in a court filing Aug. 3, saying she could only speak to generalities about domestic violence and sexual assault and has no insight into whether consent was given in this case.

Bauer previously pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians, and the Washington Post reported Saturday an Ohio woman had obtained a temporary order of protection against Bauer in 2020, claiming that he engaged in abusive behavior similar to what his current accuser alleges. Bauer responded on Twitter that the Ohio woman had “attempted to extort me for millions of dollars.” The Ohio woman’s accusations were not addressed in court Monday morning.

Bauer’s legal team outlined in a court filing three reasons the court should deny the extension of the temporary restraining order: 1) Because the accuser filed the request more than a month after last seeing Bauer and did so only to “gain publicity and harm [Bauer’s] career; 2) The accuser acknowledged that both sexual encounters were consensual in text messages to friends, and 3) the accuser and Bauer did not have a “dating relationship,” which Bauer’s attorneys say is necessary for a domestic violence restraining order.