PORTLAND, Ore. — Former Portland Timbers player Andy Polo was found liable Monday by a Multnomah County jury for assault and battery against his ex-wife, Genessis Alarcon, to whom the jury awarded $600,000 in damages, ESPN reported.
Alarcon's attorney, Michael Fuller, told ESPN that the $600,000 was the maximum amount allowed but said it will be difficult to collect from Polo, who is currently playing for Universitario Deportes in Lima, Peru. "If [Polo] keeps all his assets overseas and earns no income in the U.S., he will likely evade collections," Fuller told ESPN.
If Polo, 29, comes to the United States this summer with Peru's national team for Copa America, Fuller told ESPN he could try to collect then. Peru is scheduled to play three Copa America group stage games from June 21 through June 29 in Texas, Kansas and Florida. At this time, it's unclear if Polo will accompany the team to the United States for those games.
In March 2022, Alarcon filed a lawsuit against Polo and the Timbers' holding company, Peregrine Sports LLC, alleging that representatives from the club pressured her to not pursue criminal charges against Polo after police were called to their Beaverton home on a report of domestic violence on May 23, 2021.
According to the complaint, Polo was accused of "violently [grabbed] her by the arm, pulling her by the hair against her will, and pushing her to the floor, causing her pain and discomfort." The May 2021 incident was documented in a police report but did not become public knowledge until February 2022, when Alarcon accused Polo on Peruvian television of physically and emotionally abusing her and their children.
The Timbers terminated Polo's contract on Feb. 10, and released a statement saying the club regretted having not suspended him immediately after the incident. Major League Soccer commissioned an investigation into the club's handling of the incident, eventually fining the Timbers $25,000 for failing to promptly report the incident to the league. However, the investigation concluded that the club's failure to report was due to a lack of understanding of the MLS constitution rather than an intent to conceal the event, and it found no evidence to substantiate the allegation that the Timbers pressured Alarcon or intended to do so.
The Timbers reached a settlement with Alarcon in April 2022, but a separate lawsuit against Polo was allowed to go forward. In September 2022, a judge granted a default judgment of $600,000 to Alarcon after Polo failed to appear in court. But in March 2023, a new attorney for Polo was able to get the default judgment reversed and Polo was granted a full trial, according to ESPN and The Oregonian.
