Tigers’ minor leaguer arraigned on sexual assault

NOAH TRISTER
AP Baseball Writer

DETROIT (AP) — Minor league pitcher Evan Reed says he passed a polygraph test earlier this year after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a downtown Detroit hotel.

Reed, who appeared in 27 games for the Detroit Tigers, was arraigned Thursday and appeared in court via video on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. A not guilty plea was entered for Reed, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12.

Reed was on the Opening Day roster for the Detroit Tigers but was sent down to the minor leagues in June. The 28-year-old right-hander now plays for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.

Wayne County prosecutors said the 45-year-old woman met Reed at a bar in the suburbs on March 30, and she “began to feel odd” after consuming alcohol. They took a cab to the MotorCity Casino Hotel.

His lawyer has said Reed and the woman had consensual sex, and Reed echoed that Thursday during a news conference after the hearing.

“There was just never force, there was never incapacitation, there was never a level of being too drunk, a level of any drug use,” Reed said. “That’s just absolutely absurd.”

Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Wednesday that Reed “had reason to know the victim was physically helpless or mentally incapacitated or mentally incapable to consent.”

The accusations became public about a week after Opening Day, when Detroit was beginning a road trip to Los Angeles and San Diego.

“I got home at 2 in the morning from a West Coast road trip when I found out about the allegations,” Reed said. “I met with my lawyers at 8 and took a polygraph at noon and passed it on these exact questions that I’ve been accused of.”

Attorney David Gorcyca, who is representing Reed, said at the news conference that he was “personally and professionally” offended by the decision to charge his client.

“I have been an assistant prosecutor, I was a defense attorney, I was the prosecutor of Oakland County, and I’m a defense attorney again,” Gorcyca said. “This is one of the most outrageous, atrocious charging decisions I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Reed was 0-1 with a 4.88 ERA in 27 games for the Tigers before being sent to Toledo, where he remains on the roster.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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