Wittels Rape Case To Be Dropped, Lawyer Says
MIAMI (CBS4)- Garrett Wittels' high-profile legal nightmare is coming to an end.
Prosecutors announced in Bahamian court Wednesday that rape charges filed against Wittels, FIU's star shortstop, and friends Robert Rothschild and Jonathan Oberti will be dropped Monday, his lawyer Richard Sharpstein told CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.
Wittels and his friends were accused last December of sexually assaulting two 17-year-old American girls while partying at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort.
But authorities apparently decided the evidence gathered did not warrant proceeding with the case, which garnered national attention as it came amid Wittels' failed pursuit of the NCAA hitting streak record.
Wittels' father, local physician Michael Wittels, said he was made aware of the development, but declined further comment.
Wittels recently finished his junior season at FIU, but was not among the hundreds of high school and collegiate prospects chosen in last week's Major League Baseball draft.
"The enormous and drastic effect this had on Garrett Wittels and his career can never be compensated," Sharpstein said.
According to The Miami Herald, it is their policy not to make public the names of sexual assault accusers, but the controversial past of one of the accusers' fathers may have played a factor.
Several years ago, he reportedly planned to hire a woman to falsely claim she was raped at a professional sporting event. The sport's governing body also accused him of plotting to use actors to stage a racially charged fight in the stands in order to paint the fan base as hostile to minorities in a film he was making.
Efforts to reach justice officials in the Bahamas were not immediately successful Wednesday afternoon. The charges will not formally be dropped until the lead prosecutor signs off on the paperwork. Wittels, Rothschild and Oberti will likely need to be present for Monday's final hearing, Sharpstein said.
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