Former Rangers pitcher John Wetteland indicted on child sexual abuse charge
A former pitcher for the Texas Rangers and several other MLB teams has been indicted by a Denton County grand jury on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child younger than age 14.
John K. Wetteland, 52, of Trophy Club, was arrested and released on a $25,000 bond when he was arrested in January.
Wetteland was indicted on Thursday, according to a report by KRLD.
A probable cause affidavit says Wetteland is accused of sexually assaulting a child who was known to him between 2004 and 2006. The child was under the age of 10 and the alleged assault happened three times, the document says.
Rangers leadership have not commented on Wetteland’s indictment.
Wetteland joined the Rangers in 1997 and is a member of the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. He also pitched for the New York Yankees.
Following his pitching career, Wetteland became the bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals, but was fired in 2006. Three years later, he began working as a bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners.
Wetteland considered himself a born-again Christian and reportedly had coached and taught at Liberty Christian School in Argyle more than 10 years ago. Wetteland was a part-time employee and was a pitching coach and Bible teacher, according to a spokeswoman at the school. He taught from 2007 to 2008.
