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Rangers Prospects Accused in Dominican Sex Assault Case

Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Tuesday that they are investigating a group of Texas Rangers prospects accused of sexually assaulting six underage teammates.

The suspects were identified as Panamanian Guillermo Villarreal, 18, and Venezuelans Yohel Pozo, 19, Adrian Pernalete, 18, and Rougned Jose Odor, 19, who is the younger brother of the MLB Rangers player with the same name.

A judge told authorities to seize their passports and ordered the four players to be available for questioning, Tessie Sanchez, a spokeswoman for the Dominican prosecutor's office, told The Associated Press.

Officials said the incident allegedly occurred in October at a Texas Rangers complex in the southern coastal town of Boca Chica east of the capital.

The suspects reportedly posted an image on social media showing the alleged sexual assault. Yahoo Sports' report of the incident said all of the men in the 10-second video, including the alleged victim, were seen laughing.

Authorities declined to identify the alleged victims, who are all 16 years old. They also declined to provide details about the alleged sexual assault.

Aware of the incident, the Texas Rangers issued the following statement: “The Texas Rangers became aware of an incident at our Academy in the Dominican Republic and we acted promptly to open an investigation. We have reported the incident and are cooperating fully with Major League Baseball and the authorities in the Dominican Republic.  With this being an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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