Jury deliberations to begin in sexual assault trial of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Vazquez
May 20—A Westmoreland County jury was expected to begin deliberations late Thursday in the sexual assault trial of suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez.
Jurors heard closing arguments this afternoon in which the defense claimed Vazquez held true affection for the 13-year-old girl he had sex with in a sports car while parked in front of her Scottdale home in 2017 and conducted sexually explicit conversations with through texts, pictures and videos over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the prosecution labeled the former All-Star pitcher as a man bored by having sex with adult groupies.
Vazquez, 29, was charged in 2019 with statutory sexual assault, indecent assault of someone under 16, corruption of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor. Investigators say the incidents occurred in 2017, when the girl was 13 and 14.
Vazquez is facing an additional 10 counts of child pornography, 11 counts of unlawful contact with a minor and one count of corruption of a minor because police said he and the girl exchanged sexually explicit pictures and text messages.
Defense attorney Gary Gerson called the now 17-year-old teen an admitted liar and told jurors she was a "young troubled child who was having some fun."
Gerson said Vazquez had true affection for the girl and believed her when she said she was 17 and nearly 18 after she first contacted him over social media to wish him a happy birthday in 2017 and later by her actions during their sexual encounter.
"She wasn't acting like a little girl," Gerson said.
Lazar argued there was overwhelming evidence to support the prosecution's claim that Vazquez knew his accuser was young based on her appearance and that he referred to her as a "kid" during a half-dozen messages. Lazar said Vazquez purposely sought out a sexual relationship with the teen because of her young age.
Vazquez returned to the witnesses stand Thursday morning and insisted he believed his teen accuser was above the age of consent and again claimed she sent him a photograph of a Pennsylvania driver's licence that indicated she was at least 18.
"I didn't save it," Vazquez said when asked by Lazar about the photo.
During his more than two hours of testimony, Vazquez said he "liked" the girl and that her appearance and behavior during their sexual encounter was that of an experienced woman.
He described the way she walked to his car as like that of a "fashion model" and balked when asked by Lazar to demonstrate it for the jury. "I don't want to walk like a woman," Vazquez said.
At the direction of Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears Vazquez — wearing a blue suit — stepped down from the witness stand and smiled as he walked in front of the jury box, swinging his hips back and forth.
"Let the record show Mr. Vazquez was sashaying in front of the jury," Gerson said.
In addition to the charges in Westmoreland County, Vazquez is charged with similar offenses in Florida, based on allegations he had a sexual relationship with the same girl after she moved there in 2018.
Police in Missouri also charged Vazquez last year with pornography offenses after investigators said he and the same girl exchanged sexually explicit messages when the pitcher was playing for the Pirates in St. Louis in 2019. The Florida and Missouri cases are pending.
Rich Cholodofsky is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Rich at 724-830-6293, rcholodofsky@triblive.com or via Twitter .
