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Former Rangers pitcher John Wetteland arrested on child sex abuse charge

Published  January 16, 2019 6:23am CST
Texas Rangers
FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth

Ex-Texas Rangers pitcher John Wetteland was arrested Monday on a child sex abuse charge.

Police in Bartonville said they got a referral earlier this month from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services about a case involving Wetteland.

Based on the initial investigation, police were able to obtain an arrest warrant for the 52-year-old former baseball star for the continuous sexual abuse of a relative under the age of 14.

Jail records show Wetteland was booked and released on a $25,000 bond by the Denton County Sheriff’s office on Monday.

The arrest warrant affidavit said a 4 to 6-year-old child identified only as A.S. made an outcry of being sexually assaulted on three occasions between October 2004 and October 2006 at the former MVP pitcher’s Bartonville home.

According to the affidavit, the alleged victim, who is now an adult, made statements to the Denton County Child Advocacy Center on January 10, 2019.

Wetteland has been through a divorce and remarried. His ex-wife declined to comment. His daughter said via phone it would be best if he made a comment regarding the allegations but FOX 4 has been unable to reach him or a representative for him.

Wetteland's Major League Baseball career started with the LA Dodgers in 1989. He went on to play for the New York Yankees, winning MVP at the World Series in 1996.

That same year, Wetteland signed with the Rangers. He was inducted to the club’s Hall of Fame in 2005 after pitching four seasons for the team (1997-2001). 

Wetteland finished out his playing career with the Rangers before working as a bullpen coach for a couple other teams. The Texas Rangers said in a statement that he has no current connection to the team.

"The Texas Rangers have been made aware of this situation and have no further comment," the organization said.

Wetteland later taught Bible classes at Liberty Christian School in Argyle. The school is not mentioned in the arrest affidavit, and there is nothing to indicate there was any suspicious activity while he worked there.