The restraining order hearing against Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer began Monday with the testimony of the woman accusing him of sexual assault.
The woman, a San Diego resident, testified for about an hour on the origin of her relationship with Bauer and her account of their two sexual encounters. Her testimony was to continue Monday afternoon, followed by a cross-examination from Bauer’s attorneys.
According to her testimony, the two began messaging after she tagged him in an Instagram story on April 18, leading to sexual encounters on April 21 and May 15 that included choking to the point of losing consciousness and punches to her face, vagina and buttocks.
Pictures of her face submitted to the court show bruising under her eyes, a scab on her lip, and swelling on her jaw and cheekbone.
Bauer’s attorney Shawn Holland said in his opening statement that when asked to stop at several points during their sexual activity, Bauer 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.”
As part of her testimony, the woman revealed she had been hospitalized “eight to 10 times” for alcoholism, stating she had been an alcoholic since age 15. However, she said she has been sober since January 2020, before her relationship with Bauer began.
L.A. Superior Court Judge Dianna Gould-Saltman denied Bauer’s attorneys’ request for a third continuance 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.
Gould-Saltman also allowed Dr. Ellen Stein, an expert on sexual assault, to testify on the accuser’s behalf, which Bauer’s team had objected to, saying she had no insight into whether consent was given in this case.
Not mentioned in the courtroom Monday was the Ohio woman who obtained a temporary restraining order against Bauer for similar accusations in 2017, first reported by the Washington Post on Saturday. Bauer responded to the findings on his personal Twitter account over the weekend.
Bauer has been on administrative leave from the Dodgers since July 2.