Former Charlotte County MLB player accused of decades-long sexual abuse

A woman is accusing a former Major League Baseball player from Charlotte County of sexually abusing her for years.

While playing for the minor league team, the Charlotte Rangers, Craig Monroe allegedly started abusing the victim when she was just 12 years old.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is now actively investigating these allegations.

The accuser said the crimes started over two decades ago, but because of the nature of the offenses, there is no statute of limitations, and Monroe can face charges.

Before it belonged to the Tampa Bay Rays, Charlotte Sports Park was the home of the minor league team Charlotte Rangers.

The team no longer exists, but from the late ’90s to the early 2000s, Monroe was their outfielder. The daughter of his host family said it was during that time, and in Charlotte County, he started sexually abusing her.

The accuser is 35 now but said the abuse started when she was 12, and Monroe was in his 20s.

She said it went on for years and escalated to him prostituting her out to his friends.

After the Rangers, Monroe played for the Detroit Tigers and, until recently, was the team’s television analyst.

Monroe is represented by the Manley & Manley Law Firm out of Flint, Michigan. The Firm issued a statement that read, “Craig Monroe did not dignify these horrifying and false allegations when they appeared on various social media sites. Now that mainstream media has chosen to report this inaccurate information, Craig has no choice but to vehemently deny these claims. We will cooperate with law enforcement and are confident that once this case is fully investigated, Craig will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

“Craig Monroe takes allegations of this nature very seriously and would never commit or condone such despicable conduct. He and his family are shocked by these allegations and offer his accuser forgiveness and grace. We trust that law enforcement will uncover the truth regarding her background and motivations,” wrote Attorney Michael Manley

The team and Bally Sports Detroit sent us a statement saying they are aware of the allegations and take them seriously: “As previously stated, Mr. Monroe has not been on the broadcast schedule, and that will continue on an indefinite basis.”

CCSO sent us a statement saying, “This is an active investigation, and anyone with information is asked to come forward.”

“I think what the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office is looking for right now is to test the veracity of the allegations against Mr. Monroe and whether or not they would recommend to the state attorney’s office certain charges,” said Connor Martin, Attorney at Suarez, Rios & Weinberg.

Martin told us that despite the crimes starting over two decades ago, because of the nature of the offenses, Monroe could still be charged.

“When a victim is 16 years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense, there is no applicable statute of limitations, so prosecution can commence at any time,” Martin said.

We did reach out to the Charlotte Rangers GM at the time of the alleged crimes and didn’t hear back.

On social media, the accuser said she waited to speak out due to concerns for her and her family’s safety, knowing this would draw attention.