Former Major League Baseball player Juan Encarnacion has been accused of committing sexual assault against his daughter, the district attorney’s office in the Dominican Republic has confirmed.
Encarnacion’s daughter is a minor and the child’s mother said that Encarnacion tried to sexually assault the girl in May, when the complaint occurred.
The National District Prosecutor’s Office also confirmed that the player is in custody at the Palace of Justice in Santo Domingo, the country’s capital, and that Encarnacion will be presented before a judge on Saturday afternoon.
According to a report published by Dominican newspaper Diario Libre, Rosalba Ramos, the head of the prosecution, pointed out that the authorities requested a year of preventive detention against the former player.
The prosecution alleges that Encarnacion, 45, entered the room of the minor while she was sleeping and took advantage of her, committing the sexual assault for which he is accused.
The accusation of the Prosecutor’s Office has formally established that Encarnacion’s actions violated numerals 1 and 2 of Article 332 of the Dominican Penal Code, which refer to incest and carry a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Because of the nature of the accusation, Dominican criminal laws prohibit Encarnacion from being released on bail.
A two-time World Series champion, Encarnacion played in MLB from 1997 to 2007 with the Tigers, Reds, Marlins, Dodgers and Cardinals.