Court Document: Pete Rose Accused of Statutory Rape in 1970s

Court motion says that Pete Rose committed statutory rape in the 1970s.

All-time MLB hits leader Pete Rose is accused of having a sexual relationship with a woman in the 1970's before she turned 16, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.com.

The allegation was made by an unidentified woman in a sworn statement which appeared in a motion that was filed on Monday by the legal team of John Dowd, who is being sued by Rose for defamation. 

The woman said that she had sex with Rose in Ohio and other states, but did not identify those states.

The claims amount to statutory rape in Ohio, but can't be prosecuted because of the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Rose sued Dowd two years ago after Dowd claimed in a radio interview that Rose had underage girls delivered to him at spring training.

Rose, now 76, said he had a sexual relationship with the woman, but said it started when she was 16. Rose was 34 at the time and married with two children and says he can't remember how long the relationship lasted.

Dowd wanted the U.S. District Court in Eastern Pennsylvania to throw out the case last year, but only the tortious interference count was dismissed. 

Dowd's report in 1989 included evidence about Rose betting on baseball and he was subsequently banned for life.

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred decided not to lift Rose’s ban in December 2015.