Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Felipe Vazquez admits to sex with 13-year-old in driveway, complaint says

Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Felipe Vázquez admitted he "had sex, but not really" with a 13-year-old girl in 2017, according to a Pennsylvania criminal complaint.

Pennsylvania State Police took Vázquez was taken into custody Tuesday on felony charges stemming from an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The victim is reportedly a Fort Myers girl, now 15. 

Vázquez, 26 at the time, admits to the August 2017 contact in the six-page complaint, outlining how he drove to the girl's Scottdale, Pennsylvania, home and had relations with her in his red Ford Mustang at the end of the driveway.

According to the complaint, Vázquez said that after the girl got into his car, he pulled her to his lap, removed her pants and started sexual intercourse with her. 

The victim said that Vázquez only partially penetrated her and the pair ended the contact after about a minute.

MLB SALARIES: Baseball's top 25 highest-paid players in 2024

Vázquez said he and the girl began to have sexual intercourse in the Mustang, which he described as "sex, but not really."

He said they stopped and he told the girl he had to leave because he had a game that night.

In July, he acknowledged to investigators that he made reference to the contact via text message and a desire for further contact. 

When Vázquez was questioned Tuesday, the complaint said he said he did not remember the girl's name but after being shown a photograph acknowledged he knew her.

Vázquez also claimed that he initially refused to communicate with her because of her age, and said she looked too young and appeared to be 16 or younger.

At a press conference in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Pennsylvania State Police spokesman Steve Limani said Vázquez would be arraigned later today and the sports figure would likely remain in the Keystone State.

"There's no reason to relinquish him until they work through the charges," Limani said, adding that Florida authorities have been helpful.

He alluded to the actual sexual contact aspect in Pennsylvania as reason that the case would remain there for now.  

The state police spokesman also said details of his arraignment such as if the pitcher would actually appear or be heard via video, have yet to be worked out.

The criminal complaint said that the victim and Vázquez began their contact over social media in 2017 and eventually exchanged phone numbers.

Limani said that contact between the two continued after the girl moved to Fort Myers from Scottdale.

"Her moving had nothing to do with Vázquez," he said.

Extradition

If Vázquez is extradited to Lee County he will be treated as just another prisoner.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said treatment of people charged in active cases depends on their individual situations.

"Celebrity makes no difference," Lt. Anita Iriarte said.

Vázquez was taken to the Allegheny County Jail, where he remains. No schedule of transfer will be released for security reasons, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said.

Vázquez was later also charged in Westmoreland County, east of Pittsburgh, with felony counts of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors and a misdemeanor count of indecent assault of a person under 16.

It was not known whether the charges in Pennsylvania were related to or independent of the Florida investigation.

“We are in the process of reviewing both the Pennsylvania and Florida charging documents, as well as the underlying facts of the matter,” Vázquez’s lawyers, Jay Reisinger and Michael Comber, said in a statement Tuesday. “At this time, any comment would be premature.”

The arrest warrant did, however, refer to Vázquez continuing contact with the girl after "the victim moved to Fort Myers." 

The Florida case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney, 20th Judicial Circuit.

A representative of the State Attorney said at this point the case can't be discussed.

"I can’t say yet what will happen," said Samantha Syoen, communications director for the State Attorney's office.

Connect with this reporter: MichaelBraunNP (Facebook) @MichaelBraunNP (Twitter). The Associated Press contributed to this report.