Marlins player ordered to face trial in rape case

[Louis Cypher]

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

By The Associated Press

Wednesday, November 5, 2003

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Ramon Castro, a backup catcher for the Florida Marlins, on Wednesday was ordered to stand trial on charges he raped a woman in a Pittsburgh hotel room in August.

Pittsburgh police charged Castro after a 28-year-old woman went to a hospital and reported that he assaulted and raped her. She said she met Castro in the bar at the Westin Convention Center Hotel and went to his room in the early morning hours of Aug. 28.

A magistrate determined there was probable cause for Castro to stand trial on all charges after the woman testified as the only witness during a 110-minute hearing.

Castro, 27, of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, is charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault, sexual assault and unlawful restraint. He was allowed to remain free until trial, which wasn't immediately scheduled.

Rape, the most serious charge, carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, though under state sentencing guidelines, it's unlikely Castro would receive such a sentence if he were convicted.

The woman said she returned to Castro's room with another couple after a night of bar hopping, before he asked the other couple to leave and attacked her once they were alone.

"My client did not rape this woman," Castro's attorney, J. Alan Johnson said. The attorney said he has hired investigators to review the case and said the "time element" of the woman's accusations was crucial and that hotel surveillance tapes will eventually prove Castro's innocence.

Castro is married and has two daughters.

A third-string catcher used mostly as a pinch hitter, Castro hit .283 with 5 home runs and 8 RBI in just 53 at-bats last season.