Brian Giles Allegedly Beat His Pregnant Girlfriend, Caused Miscarriage

Cheri Olvera is suing her former boyfriend, San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles, for more than $10 million. The allegations are quite lofty.

Cheri Olvera alleges Giles began abusing her in 2002. The lawsuit accuses him of hitting and slapping her in the face, shaking and kicking her, and battering her twice when she was pregnant with Giles' child.

She also maintains that the abuse by Giles caused her to miscarry.

On one hand, the accusations are quite surprising, as Giles is generally known around baseball as being a good guy and good teammate. On the other, you never really can tell what professional athletes or entertainers are really like behind closed doors, as we've found out with Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant, among others.

Giles could either be very adept at portraying himself positively through the public eye, or this girl could be just desperately trying to hit the jackpot a few years after separating from a rich baseball player. At this point, we just can't say.

For me, two questions arise:

1. Could Olvera prove abuse caused a miscarriage, with documentation from a OB/GYN?
2. Why didn't she come forward sooner?

Either way, this can't be a good thing for Giles. If he did it, he definitely deserves this. If not, it's a major hassle no one deserves.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I'll reserve judgment on either person until then, but I can say that I have no remorse for a man who beats a woman -- much less a pregnant one -- or a woman who would make false claims in order to profit. One of them is very wrong here.

ADDENDUM: There's some video on a possible incident.