From mound to jail: MLB pitcher Felipe Vazquez guilty of child sex abuse

Felipe Vazquez, former pitcher for MLB side Pittsburgh Pirates, has been convicted of multiple sex offence charges stemming from his interaction with a 13-year-old girl, and now stares at a lengthy prison sentence.

A Westmoreland County jury in Pennsylvania had lengthy deliberation after the end of closing arguments on Thursday and found the 29 year-old Vazquez guilty on 10 counts of sexual abuse of children, two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of statutory sexual assault, one count of corruption of a minor and one count of indecent assault of someone under 16 years old, AFP reported.

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He was, however, found not guilty on 10 counts of unlawful contact or communication with a minor.

Vazquez was apprehended in September 2019 and police said he had admitted that he had “sex but not really” with the girl in 2017 — when she was 13 and he was 26 years old.

Along with one physical encounter with her in his car, prosecutors said he communicated with her through text messages and social media, and sent her nude photographs and videos of himself committing sexual acts.

Authorities had launched their investigation after the girl’s mother found photographs from Vazquez on her daughter’s cell phone and called police.

The mother also sent a message to Vazquez informing him the girl was a minor.

The girl, now 17, testified during the trial as did Vazquez, whose defense team argued that she misled him about her age.

Vazquez himself testified that he thought the girl was a mature woman and he wanted a relationship with her

The former Major League Baseball All-Star, who was one of the most highly rated relief pitchers in the big leagues, could spend decades behind bars.

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Vazquez, who is due to be sentenced in the next 90 days, faces additional charges in Florida and Missouri stemming from his contact with the same girl.

He was placed on administrative leave by MLB at the time of his arrest in 2019, halting his five-year career.