Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez is now facing 21 new felony charges after being arrested for allegedly having a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Prosecutors filed the charges as soon as they found new evidence of child pornography on one of the devices they claim he owns. The charges include 10 counts of child pornography, 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor and one count of corruption of minors.
Police seized an Apple iPhone along with an Apple MacBook Pro from Vazquez during the investigation, which led to the additional charges. During a search of the devices, seven photographs and three videos of a girl were found of a girl “in various stages of nudity,” Trooper Michael Thompson reported. Vazquez is also facing charges in Florida but will remain in Pennsylvania until the charges are disposed of in Westmoreland County.
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Vazquez was arrested for child solicitation back in September. Once the Pirates heard the news, they released a statement.
“Today we were made aware of an active law enforcement investigation involving Felipe Vรกzquez and his subsequent arrest, the statement said. “We take this matter, and these charges in particular, extremely seriously. We have informed the Commissioner’s Office of the investigation and arrest. The Commissioner’s Office will immediately place Felipe Vรกzquez on Administrative Leave (and, as a result, Restricted List) pursuant to the Joint MLB/MLBPA Policy. We need to be respectful to all involved and the ongoing legal proceeding. As a result, the organization, our staff and players cannot comment any further at this time.”
Vazquez did admit to having a sexual encounter with a 13-year old girl which occurred in August 2017. The family of the girl moved to Florida, but when the mother found out Vazquez was still contacting the girl, that’s when she called the police.
“These allegations are very, very serious,” pitcher Chris Archer said after a team meeting about Vazquez. “The term that was used earlier was heinous. Again, right now, as far as we know, they’re just allegations. There’s not a lot we can say.”
He added, “I do have a 14-year-old sister. So, it’s something that hits home.”
Vazquez has been a member of the Pirates since 2016. This year, Vazquez pitched in 56 games and recorded a 5-1 record while posting a 1.65 ERA and 28 saves.
