READ: Pete Rose Accused of Statutory Rape in Sworn Statement

Getty Former Cincinnati Reds player Pete Rose speaks during a press conference at the Champions Club at Great American Ball Park on January 19, 2016 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

An unidentified woman claims she and Pete Rose had a sexual relationship for multiple years that started before she was 16-years old.

The sworn statement provided by the woman was contained in a motion filed in federal court Monday. The motion is part of a defamation lawsuit filed by Rose against John Dowd, the same man who helped get the baseball legend banned from the game for gambling.

In the statement, the woman claims that she met Rose in 1973 “when she was 14 or 15-years old.” She said she received a phone call from Rose, who was still playing for the Cincinnati Reds at the time.

The woman claims that her and Rose “began meeting at a house in Cincinnati” and continued doing so across multiple states. In Ohio, the age of legal consent is 16, so the allegations amount to statutory rape against Rose.

“It was at that house where, before my 16th birthday, Pete Rose began a sexual relationship with me,” the woman said in the statement, which was provided in February 2017.

Read the full statement in the document below:

In court documents, Rose acknowledged that he had a relationship with the woman, but he said it had started in 1975 when the woman was 16. At that time, Rose was 34-years old, married and the father of two children. He claimed that he had forgotten how he met the woman and said he was unaware how long their relationship lasted.

Read Rose’s response to the allegations and his explanation of their relationship in the document below:

The defamation lawsuit was filed by Rose in federal court after Dowd accused him of committing statutory rape on a Philadelphia sports talk radio show. Dowd said one of Rose’s associates told him the news and he “had no doubt that it was true.”

Rose is seeking compensation from Dowd for damages caused by his radio statement, including lost endorsement contracts totaling well over $300,000.

Rose played baseball for the Reds from 1963-1978 and then for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1979-1983, returning to the Reds in 1984. He was a player manager for the franchise from 1984-1986 and manager from 1987-1989.

But in 1989, Major League Baseball asked Dowd, who was an attorney in Washington D.C. at the time, to investigate reports that Rose bet on baseball games while playing and managing for the Reds.

Dowd’s report concluded that Rose did indeed bet on baseball games, and he was subsequently banned for life from the MLB after the report was released.

Read more details from the defamation lawsuit in the federal documents below:

Rose was scheduled to appear at the a Wall of Fame ceremony for the Phillies on August 12, but the organization announced in a statement August 2 that they’ve canceled his appearance.

Due to recent events, the Phillies and Pete Rose have decided that Pete will not participate in the Phillies Alumni Weekend festivities to be held at Citizens Bank Park on August 10-13, 2017.

Rose said, “While I am truly honored that the Phillies fans voted for me to be this year’s Wall of Fame inductee, I am concerned that other matters will overshadow the goodwill associated with Alumni Weekend, and I agree with the decision not to participate.”

The Phillies will not distribute the Pete Rose bobble figurine giveaway on Friday, August 11. On Saturday, the Phillies will pay tribute to former Wall of Fame inductees during a pre-game ceremony. The weekend’s events continue on Sunday with more than 40 alumni being recognized on-field. All fans in attendance for Sunday’s game will receive a Wall of Fame card pack.

Fans holding tickets for Friday, August 11 or Saturday, August 12 can exchange their tickets for any remaining 2017 game or receive a refund at any Citizens Bank Park sales window or by mailing their tickets to The Phillies, One Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148. Exchanges or refunds must be processed by October 1, 2017.