Former MLB All-Star Deported After Felony Conviction
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported a former MLB star for sexual crimes involving a minor.
Felipe Javier Rivero Blanco was deported to Venezuela on Friday after he was convicted of statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault of a person less than 16 years of age, and 10 counts related to child sexual abuse material, according to an ICE news release.
Rivero Blanco played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals under the alias Felipe Vazquez.
The victim, a 13-year-old girl, reported that Rivero Blanco, who was 26 at the time, attempted to have sex with her in a car, according to MLB.com. The girl’s mother found explicit text messages, pictures and video Rivero Blanco had sent to her daughter.
Rivero Blanco later admitted to having sex with the girl in her house in 2017. He was subsequently placed on administrative leave from the Pirates.
In 2021, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, according to ICE.
“Rivero Blanco’s removal demonstrates [Enforcement and Removal Operations] Philadelphia’s commitment to protecting U.S. persons from predators regardless of their public persona or status,” ICE official Cammilla Wamsley said in a statement.
Rivero Blanco pitched five MLB seasons for the Nationals and Pirates, earning an All-Star nod in 2018 and 2019 before his arrest.
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