The woman who accused MLB player Trevor Bauer of sexual assault and demanded money has been charged with fraud and extortion in criminal court in Arizona.
Darcy Esemonu was hit Monday with one count of fraud and one of theft by extortion, according to reports.
Esemonu accused the former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher in a civil suit in June 2023 of raping her in late 2020, holding a knife to her throat and choking her until she passed out. She said the encounter got her pregnant.
Bauer countersued, accusing her of extortion. He said the pair had consensual sex one time, after which Esemonu told him she was pregnant and demanded $1.6 million to end it. He said he supported her decision to terminate her pregnancy and paid for the cost of an abortion. She later said she miscarried, instead.
The 33-year-old Bauer, who won a Cy Young award in 2020, was placed on administrative leave by the MLB in July 2021 after accusations were levied by another woman. The two settled their legal dispute in late 2023. Nonetheless, he was suspended for 324 games, or an unprecedented two seasons, for violating the MLB’s domestic violence policy. An independent arbitrator reduced that to 194 games in December 2022. The Dodgers cut him after the suspension ended and he didn’t get picked up by any other team.
Bauer has not been charged for any of the accusations.
He played in Japan after his ouster from the MLB and is currently pitching for the Mexican League team Diablos Rojos del Mexico.
Bauer appeared to feel vindicated on Tuesday.
“She never had an abortion because she was never even pregnant,” he said of Esemonu in a five-minute video posted to YouTube, adding that her own medical records corroborate his claim. “She also claims that instead of an abortion, she actually had a miscarriage, but that’s impossible of course, because she was never even pregnant.”
It was not Esemonu’s first time as an accuser, TMZ reported, citing court records showing that she was also charged with fraud and felony theft by extortion for alleged wrongdoing related to another man, Marco Bresciani.
“At this point, I’m not sure what I can possibly do to prove my innocence in all this. I did not do what I was accused of,” Bauer said. “What else do I have to do to prove that this entire situation’s been a massive lie? This is insane. At what point do I get to go back to work and continue earning a living?”
With News Wire Services
