Santa Cruz DA Won't Charge Giants Slugger Sandoval
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- San Francisco Giant Pablo Sandoval will not face charges in connection to allegations that he sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman in Aptos last month, according to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office.
Sandoval, 25, was being investigated in connection with an incident in which the woman told authorities that the Giants' third baseman had assaulted her at a resort in Aptos.
The announcement follows a similar statement Thursday by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office that its own independent investigation had not revealed enough evidence to warrant arresting Sandoval.
On Monday, after reviewing the sheriff's department's investigation, the district attorney's office announced it agreed there was not enough evidence to file charges or arrest Sandoval.
"Nothing from the physical evidence and other witnesses helped corroborate her story. All evidence that might be relevant to the contested issues of force and lack of consent is simply inconclusive," said Deputy District Attorney Bob Lee.
Lee also mentioned that the "nature and number of the complainant's inconsistencies" led his office to the decision not to charge Sandoval.
The woman had filed a complaint against Sandoval at 4:25 a.m. on the morning of June 1. She said she had met a group of people in downtown Santa Cruz the previous night, then gone to the resort, according to the sheriff's office.
An employee at the Motiv restaurant and bar at 1209 Pacific Ave. in Santa Cruz said Sandoval was at the bar that night.
According to Lee, the sheriff's department's investigation was extensive and included interviews with witnesses, search warrants, security video tapes, text messages, toxicology reports and physical evidence.
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