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Marlins' Castro arrested and charged with rape
Marlins backup catcher Ramon Castro was arrested, jailed and charged with four counts of sexual misconduct after a 28-year-old woman told police she was raped by the player in the team's hotel early Thursday morning.
Castro, 27, was charged with involuntary sexual deviant intercourse, rape, sexual assault and unlawful restraint. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.
Jaime L. Torres, Castro's Miami-based agent, was in Pittsburgh late Thursday, accompanied by J. Alan Johnson, a prominent western Pennsylvania defense attorney and former U.S. attorney. However both men refused to discuss the case with reporters.
Reached on his cellphone late Thursday, Torres would say only, ``I haven't got time to talk right now. Thank you. Goodbye.''
According to Pittsburgh police Lt. Kevin Kraus, Castro, an unidentified man and two women visited at least one downtown bar after Wednesday's game before returning to the Westin Convention Center Hotel, where the assault is alleged to have occurred.
Kraus declined to say whether the other two people were in Castro's room at the time of the alleged incident but said the woman arrived at a local hospital at about 5:42 a.m. and told the staff she had been raped hours earlier. A hospital worker then called police.
The woman was treated for minor injuries and released.
Castro, who is married and has two young daughters, cooperated with police during their daylong investigation. The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office waited until late Thursday to decide to prosecute.
Many of Castro's teammates didn't learn of the incident until arriving at the ballpark Thursday afternoon.
The team closed its clubhouse just after 3:30 p.m. for an hourlong meeting during which club owner Jeffrey Loria, who flew in from New York, and manager Jack McKeon spoke to players.
Loria declined to speak with reporters, and the club also had no comment.
``You'll have to direct your questions to the authorities,'' Loria said. ``This is a matter for the authorities.''
Loria and the team were joined after the game by P.J. Loyello, the team's vice president for communications; team president David Samson, and Fred Ferreira, the senior vice president for international operations.
``It's tough,'' McKeon said.
``We're all supporting Castro. We don't know the circumstances. I know there's . . . an investigation or suspicion or whatever you want to call it. That's all there was to it.
``We're all sorry about the situation, but we don't know the details.''
Teammates of the six-foot-three, 235-pound catcher wouldn't discuss what was said in the team meeting.
``I just found out, so I have no comment,'' center fielder Juan Pierre said.
Police said in a statement that investigators ``processed'' the scene for evidence.
Castro, the first Puerto Rican high school player to be chosen in the first round of baseball's amateur draft, is in his fifth season with the Marlins.
He has played sparingly, batting .289 with three homers and six RBI in 45 at-bats.
He was a team hero earlier this month, hitting a game-winning home run Aug. 12 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th inning.
Castro, 27, was charged with involuntary sexual deviant intercourse, rape, sexual assault and unlawful restraint. He is scheduled to be arraigned today.
Jaime L. Torres, Castro's Miami-based agent, was in Pittsburgh late Thursday, accompanied by J. Alan Johnson, a prominent western Pennsylvania defense attorney and former U.S. attorney. However both men refused to discuss the case with reporters.
Reached on his cellphone late Thursday, Torres would say only, ``I haven't got time to talk right now. Thank you. Goodbye.''
According to Pittsburgh police Lt. Kevin Kraus, Castro, an unidentified man and two women visited at least one downtown bar after Wednesday's game before returning to the Westin Convention Center Hotel, where the assault is alleged to have occurred.
Kraus declined to say whether the other two people were in Castro's room at the time of the alleged incident but said the woman arrived at a local hospital at about 5:42 a.m. and told the staff she had been raped hours earlier. A hospital worker then called police.
The woman was treated for minor injuries and released.
Castro, who is married and has two young daughters, cooperated with police during their daylong investigation. The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office waited until late Thursday to decide to prosecute.
Many of Castro's teammates didn't learn of the incident until arriving at the ballpark Thursday afternoon.
The team closed its clubhouse just after 3:30 p.m. for an hourlong meeting during which club owner Jeffrey Loria, who flew in from New York, and manager Jack McKeon spoke to players.
Loria declined to speak with reporters, and the club also had no comment.
``You'll have to direct your questions to the authorities,'' Loria said. ``This is a matter for the authorities.''
Loria and the team were joined after the game by P.J. Loyello, the team's vice president for communications; team president David Samson, and Fred Ferreira, the senior vice president for international operations.
``It's tough,'' McKeon said.
``We're all supporting Castro. We don't know the circumstances. I know there's . . . an investigation or suspicion or whatever you want to call it. That's all there was to it.
``We're all sorry about the situation, but we don't know the details.''
Teammates of the six-foot-three, 235-pound catcher wouldn't discuss what was said in the team meeting.
``I just found out, so I have no comment,'' center fielder Juan Pierre said.
Police said in a statement that investigators ``processed'' the scene for evidence.
Castro, the first Puerto Rican high school player to be chosen in the first round of baseball's amateur draft, is in his fifth season with the Marlins.
He has played sparingly, batting .289 with three homers and six RBI in 45 at-bats.
He was a team hero earlier this month, hitting a game-winning home run Aug. 12 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th inning.