NY Mets Pitcher Santana Faces Battery Allegations, No Charges
The sexual battery case involving New York Mets pitcher Johan Santana is closed and no charges were filed.
A woman accused Johan Santana of raping her but the state's attorney office declined to prosecute the sexual battery case, the Associated Press reports. Apparently, there was a lack of evidence. In addition, the alleged victim's statement is not consistent with other witnesses, according to officials.
A police report filed, showed Santana was with the woman on a golf course in a gated community in Florida on the night of Oct. 27. The woman says Santana forced himself on her sexually.
She accused the baseball player of raping her. Rape is a criminal offense defined in most states as forcible sexual relations with a person against that person's will.
In general, battery is an intentional unpermitted act causing harmful or offensive contact with the "person" of another.
Battery is concerned with the right to have one's body left alone by others. Battery is both a civil tort and a crime. Its essential element, harmful or offensive contact, is the same in both areas of the law.
The main distinction between the two categories lies in the penalty imposed. A defendant sued for a tort is civilly liable to the plaintiff for damages.
The punishment for criminal battery is a fine, imprisonment, or both. Usually battery is prosecuted as a crime only in cases involving serious harm to the victim.
Recently, Johan Santana addressed the media with a written statement about the sexual battery case, "I'm aware of the situation. What I can tell you is that police have investigated these claims last year, and I was never charged with anything, and the case is closed..."
Related Resources:
- Santana addresses battery investigation (ESPN)
- Battery (FindLaw's LawBrain)
- Rape (FindLaw)