PITTSBURGH - Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez was arrested Tuesday on multiple felony charges, including statutory sexual assault, soliciting a child and pornography, and was placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball.
Vazquez was taken into custody by Pennsylvania State Police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors, both felonies, stemming from an investigation in Florida. He was later charged in Westmoreland County, which is 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 years old.
Vazquez was arraigned via video from the Allegheny County jail, wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt and glasses, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He was denied bond, with the judge saying she believed Vazquez was a flight risk, the newspaper reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said it began investigating after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vazquez, 28, and a girl, now 15, living in Lee County, Fla. Vazquez, who lives in Saint Cloud, Fla., and the victim began the relationship when the girl was 13, authorities said.
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