In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday, Dodgers pitcher and Santa Clarita native Trevor Bauer announced he was suing his former accuser and her lawyer for making “fabricated allegations of sexual assault” against him.
The litigation brings forward a host of new allegations against Lindsey Hill, the accuser, that include details from Bauer’s point of view on the pair’s first encounter in April 2021, their second encounter in May and new physical evidence.
In direct opposition to the previously alleged violent first encounter, the lawsuit filed by Bauer against the San Diego woman and her attorney alleges that all acts of hair pulling and choking that were previously alleged were spoken about before the acts, and performed consensually by both parties.
The lawsuit also states that Hill sent text messages to her cousin, before the sexual encounter with Bauer began, with photos of the inside of Bauer’s Pasadena home indicating that she was about to have sex with him. The suit also alleges that Hill and Bauer fell asleep without engaging in anal sex and that when he put his fingers in her mouth, and she asked him to stop, Bauer complied.
Following the first sexual encounter, the lawsuit alleges that Hill bragged to her friends about the encounter and called him “an amazing human” to one of them. In other incidents, she reportedly alluded “to his financial wealth and her ability to harm his baseball performance, for the benefit of the Padres, her favorite baseball team.”
“Mr. Bauer and Ms. Hill conversed over Instagram sporadically until, on May 8th, unsolicited, Ms. Hill gave Mr. Bauer her cell phone number,” the complaint reads. “They continued their conversation over text messages. At that point, Mr. Bauer had not asked Ms. Hill to visit him again.”
Following a graphic exchange of text messages on May 9, Hill then once again visited Bauer at his home on May 15. During that sexual encounter, the suit said, Bauer engaged in what was categorized as “rough sex” with the woman, and halted when she used their “safe word.”
“Ms. Hill was not trembling or crying, nor was she visibly distressed or incapacitated in any way,” the suit reads, alluding to the first lawsuit she had filed against him. “After a few moments, Ms. Hill asked if Mr. Bauer wanted to reinitiate sexual intercourse. He declined.”
The suit goes on to say that at no point did Bauer punch the woman, nor did he have to assist her into the shower like she had previously alleged. It also states that she did not have any visible markings or bruises when he left the house that morning.
In following text messages to her friends after the second encounter, according to the lawsuit, Hill began to say that the sexual intercourse was consensual, but that it went “too far.” She also reportedly told her Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor that the sexual encounter had happened at her apartment in San Diego, contrary to the place where both her lawsuit and Bauer’s lawsuit say it happened.
The lawsuit acknowledges that Hill was in the hospital following the second encounter and that she was escorted by a San Diego Police Department officer and that she saw a sexual assault nurse examiner. It also states that, during that visit to the hospital, her CT scans showed only surface-level bruising and swelling on the left side of her face, not broken bones and an orbital fracture as stated in her lawsuit.
After filing a police report with the Pasadena Police Department, Hill reportedly exchanged texts with her AA sponsor talking about how she “wished to destroy Mr. Bauer’s reputation and career and to exploit him for money.”
“You’re supposed to be struggling mentally not posting. Yes. Do not post anything,” said Hill’s AA sponsor, in response to Hill wanting to post an image of herself on social media before deactivating her account.
“Secure the bag,” the sponsor later added.
During testimony, the suit states, the defendant’s friend said she had made no mention of her being anally penetrated by Bauer while she was unconscious, and reported that she had not told the SANE nurse that. Additionally, the SANE nurse testified that the abrasion on Hill’s face appeared to be “indistinguishable from acne or other skin disturbances” and Hill testified that the photos in her complaint showing her skin appear orange and eyes appear black were distorted by a filter.
The lawsuit states that Hill’s attorney, Niranjan Fred Thiagarajah, was also liable for damages because he continued to “falsely accuse Mr. Bauer of Criminal Conduct” in the media, even after the L.A. County District Attorney, George Gascón, declined to bring charges of criminal conduct.
The suit alleges four causes of action for defamation and interference with Bauer’s contract with the Dodgers — a three-year, $102 million agreement he signed in 2021. The Dodgers pitcher had been placed on administrative leave for the Dodgers’ final half of the season last year.
Bauer is seeking damages against both Hill and Thiagarajah in an amount to be established at trial and would include attorney’s fees as well as any others the court finds appropriate.
Efforts to reach Thiagarajah on Monday evening were unsuccessful.
