ICE Deports Former MLB Pitcher Felipe Vazquez Who Is Convicted Sex Offender

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez — who is currently serving a prison sentence for sexually assaulting a young girl — has been deported.

According to a release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal ICE agents in Philadelphia took the former closer to Venezuela on Dec. 1.

Police arrested Vazquez in September 2019 after he was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. He was convicted of statutory sexual assault and, in 2021, was sentenced to serve two to four years in state prison.

During the trial, Vazquez's defense team insisted he was unaware of the victim's age.

They discussed the yearly training he received from MLB since he moved to the United States from Venezuela in 2008. And Vazquez testified he learned a variety of things in those training sessions — from speaking English to managing social media accounts.

The two-time All-Star claimed that training taught him to verify the age of anyone he comes into contact with on social media. He told the jury he asked the alleged victim how old she was and even requested photo identification before engaging in sexual conversations with her.

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But both sides agreed he made the hour-long drive from Pittsburgh to Scottsdale, Penn., to have sex with the girl in August 2017.

He continued to exchange explicit photographs and videos with the victim for the next two years

The girl, now 17, admitted to telling Vazquez she was 17 when they first started chatting. She denied sending him a photograph of a fake ID.

Felipe Vazquez began his career with the Washington Nationals in 2015. They traded him to Pittsburgh in 2016, but the Pirates ultimately placed him on the restricted list in 2019 due to these allegations.