Blue Jay hit with $8M sex lawsuit--Woman alleges she was drugged--Escobar taped assault, claim says
<a href=www.thestar.com>Toronto Star - Apr. 26, 2003. 01:41 PM DALE BRAZAO STAFF REPORTER
A Toronto woman has launched an $8 million lawsuit against Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Kelvim Escobar, claiming she was drugged and then sexually assaulted by Escobar who videotaped the entire incident.
According to her lawyer, Eddie Greenspan, the woman, who is in her mid-20s, has the tape.
The assault allegedly took place two years ago at Escobar's Toronto waterfront condominium after the woman, who had known Escobar for about a year, accepted his invitation to go to a nightclub in Yorkville, according to the lawsuit filed yesterday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The statement of claim contains allegations that have not been proven in court. Approached just before last night's game with the Kansas City Royals, Escobar, 27, said his lawyer had notified him of the suit, but he couldn't talk about it.
"I mean you have to deal with it, you know, but I can't really make any comment," Escobar told the Star. "I'm sorry, but I can't say anything."
The woman, described only as Jane Doe in the court documents, claims that while at the club, Escobar slipped a "noxious substance" into a glass of champagne, causing her to become dizzy and light-headed.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Escobar then escorted her to his car, where she lost consciousness.
"She did not regain consciousness until the next day when she found herself naked and disoriented in Escobar's bed in his bedroom at his condominium," the lawsuit says.
While Jane Doe was unconscious, Escobar "repeatedly assaulted and battered her," the lawsuit claims.
The statement of claim contains a graphic frame-by-frame description of the alleged sexual assault.
When Jane Doe questioned Escobar about what had transpired in the apartment the night before, he told her she had become ill and vomited and so he had taken her clothes off, the document alleges.
Escobar told her he had wanted to have sex with her, but because she had passed out he had refrained from doing so, the lawsuit claims.
"I wanted to make love to you, but you didn't wake, so I let you sleep," Escobar is quoted as telling the woman.
The woman claims she found semen in her vagina when she awoke.
On her way to the bathroom to get dressed she saw a video camera in the apartment. While dressing, the woman also noticed that there was no vomit on her clothing.
"After dressing, Jane returned to Escobar's bedroom and noticed that the video camera was no longer visible and that Escobar had dropped clothes over a bag. In Escobar's absence, she rummaged about and found the video camera under a bag below the clothing.
"She opened the camera, removed the cassette and hid it in her purse," the lawsuit says.
"Jane did not consent to the sexual assaults and battery ... She has no recollection of them because she was unconscious and could not consent and did not consent," the lawsuit states.
Escobar ended the recording session by saying: "Pobrecita," which is the Spanish word for "poor girl," the lawsuit claims.
Greenspan said he could not comment on why it took the woman two years to go public with her allegations, or whether she had complained to police.
She has also hired lawyer Harvey Strosberg as co-counsel to put her case before the courts.
The lawsuit also claims that Escobar did not use a condom, thereby exposing the woman to both the risk of pregnancy and the risk of sexually transmitted disease.
As a result of the "assaults and battery," Jane Doe has suffered loss of income, is anxious and depressed. She requires and will require medical care and counselling, is distrustful of males and will have difficulty in the future in maintaining interpersonal relationships, the suit claims.
Escobar's conduct, the lawsuit claims, was "highhanded, outrageous, reckless, wanton, entirely without care, deliberate, callous, disgraceful, wilful in disregard of Jane's rights and indifferent to the consequences."
The suit claims $5 million in general damages and $3 million in aggravated and punitive damages. Escobar's lawyer, William Burden, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The Venezuelan-born Escobar, a hard-throwing right-hander who is in his seventh season with the Blue Jays, signed a one-year $3.9 million (U.S.) contract with the Jays over the winter. Baseball observers believe he has the stuff to become one of the game's elite closers.
But Escobar, like the rest of the Jays team, is off to a miserable start with a record of one win and a loss and an ERA of 10.80. Up until last night he had registered three saves.
His official bio posted on www.BigLeaguers.com claims the 6-foot-1 210-pound Escobar is "The man with the golden arm." His 38 saves last year made him one of the top closers in the American League and his 54 saves ranks him fourth in franchise history.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Star's Geoff Baker three weeks ago, Escobar talked about what he missed about Venezuela.
"Being around my family. I'm very much a family guy." Escobar said.
"Then, the second thing I miss is the Venezuelan ladies. The girls."