Starlin Castro Won’t Face Charges for Sexual Assault

Starlin Castro and the Chicago Cubs received good news yesterday as it was reported that the shortstop will not face criminal charges stemming from accusations of sexual assault.  In January Castro was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he picked up in a Chicago-area nightclub, but the Police Department and State’s Attorney’s office have decided against pursuing criminal charges as a result of insufficient evidence.

In January, an unnamed woman in her 20’s came forward and accused Castro of sexually assaulting her.  She said that she met Castro while she was out drinking with friends at a nightclub in Chicago.  According to the woman, she and a friend left the nightclub around 3 a.m. and went to Castro’s apartment.

The woman said she ended up blacking out and later woke up to find Castro sexually assaulting her.  She claimed to have screamed and left the apartment.  The next afternoon the woman went to the hospital and that is when the police became involved.

What made things look worse for Castro is that he reportedly left the country to fly home to his native Dominican Republic the day after the woman accused him of sexually assaulting her.  Upon returning to the United States, Castro was questioned by authorities.  From the time the accusations surfaced the 22-year-old’s attorneys said the reports were baseless and that Castro was innocent.

Castro’s agent and Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer were both pleased to hear that no charges would result from the accusations.

Castro was not immediately available for comment, but it appears that he hasn’t let the hovering accusations impact his season.  So far this year, Castro has hit at a clip of .352/.379/.407 with 7 stolen bases over his first 14 games.

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