Former Yankees Reliever John Wetteland Claims Innocence in Horrifying Sex Abuse Case

Former Yankees World Series MVP John Wetteland appeared in court on Monday for the first time since being arrested in January on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child, maintaining his innocence of the appalling alleged acts.

The latest we heard of Wetteland came in late March, when the former three-time All-Star was officially indicted on three charges of child sexual abuse.

Following Monday's arraignment hearing, Wetteland's attorney, Derek Adame, said the following to the Dallas Morning News: "What they’ve accused him of, the only thing worse is murder. He was completely shocked."

The former MLB reliever is scheduled to next appear in court in July for a follow-up hearing, during he intends to enter a not-guilty plea.

“We look forward to the opportunity to prove our innocence, which is what Mr. Wetteland is,” his attorneys said. “He is innocent and is looking forward to his day in court.

So this is how it's gonna go down, huh?

It would be premature to deem Wetteland a repulsive predator before he's been tried by a jury of his peers, but it's equally difficult to believe that these grotesque accusations are 100% unfounded-- not to mention that the accuser claims to recall the absuive acts occurring two additional times in the following years.

Wetteland had better hope his non-guilty plea holds up to a jury. July really can't come soon enough.