Giants’ Infielder Pablo Sandoval Under Investigation In Alleged Sexual Assault

San Francisco Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval has been questioned by law enforcement officials in California about an alleged sex assault incident that occurred early Friday morning.

According to the Contra Costa Times…

About 4:30 a.m. Friday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint that Sandoval, 25, had sexually assaulted a woman he met earlier in downtown Santa Cruz, according to a statement Saturday by Lt. Fred Plageman.

The incident allegedly occurred at nearby Seascape Beach Resort. Sandoval possibly may have met the woman at the Motiv nightclub in downtown Santa Cruz earlier earlier that night.

The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Department says that Sandoval and his legal counsel are cooperating with the investigation. Sandoval’s lawyer maintains that the alleged sexual encounter was of a consensual nature.

Sheriff’s investigators hope to complete their investigation by the end of the week, according to ESPN, at which time they will decide whether or not to file charges against Sandoval.

CSNBayArea.com reports that Giants vice president Staci Slaughter said that “Given the off-field nature of the issue, we refer all comment to his attorney.”

Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, has been on the disabled list since early May when he broke a bone in his left hand. He is currently on a rehab assignment with Single A San Jose and is scheduled to rejoin the Giants later this month.

Sandoval is a career.307 hitter and 2011 All-Star who made his MLB debut with the Giants in August 2008. He is batting.316 this year with five home runs and 15 RBIs. Pablo Sandoval is in the first year of a three-year $17 million deal.

[image credit: MissChatter]