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Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich was charged with molesting a 6-year-old family member in 2012, The Oregonian reports.
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Oregon State pitcher Luke Heimlich, whose criminal history of pleading guilty to molesting a 6-year-old when he was a teenager was reported by The Oregonian on Thursday, won’t pitch in the upcoming series his team has with Vanderbilt.

Heimlich released a statement Friday about his situation and closed by saying that he “respectfully requested to be excused from playing at this time.”

The No. 1 ranked Beavers beat Vanderbilt 8-4 in the opening game of a three-game series with the winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha. Heimlich was in uniform for the game and was cheered by fans when he was introduced along with the rest of Oregon State’s players before the game.

Heimlich failed to renew his registration as a sex offender in Oregon within 10 days of his most recent birthday and was cited in Benton County on a misdemeanor charge that was dismissed last month, according The Associated Press.

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That citation led The Oregonian to the Washington state case and it obtained those records using a public information act request.

“I have taken responsibility for my conduct when I was a teenager,” Heimlich said in a statement. “As a 16-year-old, I was placed on juvenile court probation and ordered to participate in an individual counseling program. I’m grateful for the counseling I received, and since then, I realized that the only way forward was to work each day on becoming the best person, community member and student I can possibly be. I understand that many people now see me differently, but I hope I can eventually be judged on the person I am today.

“I’m so proud of our team’s accomplishment and don’t want to be a distraction. Therefore, I’ve respectfully requested to be excused from playing at this time.”