PHILADELPHIA – Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez was deported back to Venezuela recently after being convicted of various child sex crimes, according to a report.
Vazquez was the all-star closer out of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen when he was first arrested in 2019 for having an unlawful sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl that began when she was 13, Law Officer reported at the time. He was suspended by MLB at the time of his arrest.
In 2021, Vazquez was convicted by a Pennsylvania jury on 10 counts, including statutory sexual assault, sexual abuse of children and indecent assault of a minor under 16. He was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison on August 17, 2021.
Vazquez was 26 when the crimes were committed. His defense argued the victim, 13, misled him about her age, ESPN reported previously reported.
Late last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement that an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in Cleveland, Ohio, ordered on May 31, 2023 that he must be deported back to Venezuela, the Daily Wire reported.
“(His) removal demonstrates ERO Philadelphia’s commitment to protecting U.S. persons from predators regardless of their public persona or status,” said ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Cammilla Wamsley.
The crimes were first discovered by the victim’s mother after viewing ongoing illicit text messages containing sexual content between Vazquez and her daughter.
The underage girl testified during trial that she and Vasquez had sex in his car outside her home hours before an afternoon Pirates game.
Vazquez signed a $22.5 million contract with Pittsburgh prior to the 2018 season.
