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Prosecutor Appealing Sex Assault Case Against Tigers Minor League Pitcher Evan Reed

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Prosecutors are asking a judge to reinstate charges against professional pitcher Evan Reed, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman last spring when he played with the Detroit Tigers.

Judge Kenneth King found problems with the case and dismissed third-degree criminal sexual conduct charges in August, saying the woman's story wasn't credible. The appeal will be heard at 9 a.m. Friday before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael Callahan.

The 45-year-old woman says she met Reed, 28, at a bar in Royal Oak, and they later went to a casino hotel in Detroit on March 30 — the day before Opening Day. She says she "blacked out" after taking her third drink at the bar and believes she was drugged.

"The last thing I remember is just my body feeling funny," she testified. "I completely blacked out from that point on and I don't remember a single thing."

The woman testified that the next thing she can remember, she was with Reed in bed, both of them were nude, and there was "evidence around the room" that sexual activity had taken place.

MORE: Victim Testifies She Woke Up Dizzy, In Pain Following Alleged Attack By Tigers Minor League Pitcher

The 28-year-old Reed insists they had consensual sex. He's now a free agent after pitching with the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo last season.

WWJ Legal Analyst Charlie Langton said he doesn't think a new judge on the case will change the outcome.

"The judge said the victim was not credible," Langton said. "Generally, judges do defer to the judge that judged the credibility of witnesses when reviewing those decisions."

Judge King said there's no doubt the alleged victim was incapacitated when she entered the hotel with Reed; "The problem is what happened in that hotel room … no one knows," he said.

"I don't have any evidence as to what the rape kit showed, I don't know if there was any intercourse that took place at all," the judge said, later adding, "Is there a question of credibility? Perhaps."

The defense has called the woman's claims "bogus allegations."

Talking to WWJ's Sandra McNeil and other reporters outside the courthouse in August, Reed was obviously elated that the charges were dismissed.

"It's pretty plain to see that people…you know…people want to take stuff from you, and you can't let them do that; you have to protect what you have," Reed said.

"It's not my time or place to bash the accuser. Her lies caught up with her," he said.

[Catch up on this case]

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