Cubs All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro said he was relieved to learn than he will not face criminal charges months after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he picked up at a River North nightclub.
“I’m happy that we got it resolved, but I’ve stayed focused on the field,” Castro said in the Cubs clubhouse
“. . . I’m happy that thing is over. . .I play[ed] every day and don’t [didn’t] think about that because it was a tough thing to think about. I kept it out of my mind.”
The Cook County state’s attorney’s office announced Friday it was declining to pursue charges against the 22-year-old star, saying “insufficient evidence was found.”
“The State’s Attorney’s office in conjunction with the Chicago Police Department conducted a comprehensive review and investigation and as a result found insufficient evidence to bring forth criminal charges,” state’s attorney spokeswoman Sally Daly said.
When told by the Chicago Sun-Times about the prosecutors’ decision , Castro’s agent, Paul Kinzer said Friday: “That is awesome.”
“This makes me very happy,” he said.
Castro was not immediately available for comment; the news came long after players had left Wrigley Field on Friday.
Cubs General Manager Jed Hoyer said in a statement: “We’re pleased for Starlin that this issue is resolved and glad that he can continue to keep his focus on baseball activities.”
A police source said in January that detectives were investigating the criminal sexual assault complaint involving Castro, who allegedly met the woman on Sept. 29 at a River North nightclub and took her back to his apartment. The woman, in her 20s, went to a hospital the next day, and police became involved.
By then, Castro had already left for his native Dominican Republic after the end of the Cubs’ playoff-less season.
When he returned to Chicago in January for the Cubs Convention, he was questioned by police. He voluntarily appeared at the Belmont Area detective headquarters to talk to investigators.
The allegation has hovered over his head ever since, including into this baseball season.
“We’re just happy they got it right,” Kinzer said. “Obviously, it hasn’t been a distraction. He’s a remarkable kid. Nothing distracts him. He’s very focused.”
Lawyers for the shortstop have long said the complaint against Castro was baseless.
In February, when Castro reported to training camp, he told reporters he had learned a lot from the events of the offseason.
‘’You’ve got to be careful,” he said, “because there’s a lot of bad people in the world.”
