DENTON, Texas - The mother of a man who claims he was sexually assaulted as a child by a former Texas Rangers pitcher told a jury about her son’s outcry.
John Wetteland is on trial in Denton County. He was arrested in 2019 and charged with three counts of aggravated assault of a child.
Wetteland’s accuser is a relative who lived at the former pitcher’s home in Bartonville. He was 4 years old at the time of the first alleged assault in 2004 and is now an adult.
The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported the accuser’s mother testified she learned of the alleged abuse when her son was a teenager. She said he struggled to speak and cut his body for years before making an outcry.
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Former Rangers pitcher John Wetteland arrives in court
Wetteland is accused of sexually abusing a young relative 3 times from 2004 to 2006.
The mother initially did not report the crime. The police investigation began after her son’s school learned of the alleged abuse, the newspaper reported.
Defense attorneys have suggested the claims are false.
Wetteland faces up to life in prison if convicted.
He played for the Rangers for 4 seasons from 1997 to 2000, making the AL All-Star team twice. He was indicted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame in 2005.
Wetteland also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodger, Montreal Expos and New York Yankees, with whom he won the 1996 World Series MVP award.