Former Major League Baseball pitcher John Wetteland has been charged with sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14 in Texas. Wetteland, 52, was arrested Monday and freed on $25,000 bond, records show.
Wetteland lives in the Dallas suburb of Trophy Club, Texas and Bartonville Police Chief Bobby Dowell told the Associated Press that the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services contacted his office last week. Wetteland was charged following an investigation.
Here's more from the Associated Press report:
Dowell said that because of the nature of the offense and the stage of the investigation, he had no further details to release. DFPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said details of the agency's cases are confidential. According to a consolidated complaint and probable cause affidavit, Wetteland is accused of having a child perform a sex act on him, beginning in 2004 when the child was 4. The accuser said it happened twice more during a two-year period.
Wetteland pitched for four teams in the majors from 1989 until 2000. He was a three-time All-Star, logged 330 career saves and was inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. Wetteland also won World Series MVP honors with the Yankees in 1996.
Wetteland was hired as the Nationals bullpen coach ahead of the 2006 season, but he was fired in June of that year by manager Frank Robinson.
