Oregon State Beavers baseball pitcher Luke Heimlich proclaimed his innocence in his first on-the-record media interview about his legal case since The Oregonian/OregonLive reported last June that he had pleaded guilty as a teenager in 2012 to one count of sexually molesting a 6-year-old female family member.

"Nothing ever happened," Heimlich told The New York Times in one of a series of interviews, adding that he had pleaded guilty so that the case could be resolved quickly and "for the sake of family relations," the Times reported.

"I always denied anything ever happened," Heimlich told the Times. "Even after I pled guilty, which was a decision me and my parents thought was the best option to move forward as a family. And after that, even when I was going through counseling and treatment, I maintained my innocence the whole time."

The victim's mother could not be reached for comment by The Oregonian/OregonLive on Monday. She told the Times later Monday that "there is no way he didn't do it," noting that her daughter provided "very specific" accounts of the abuse. She added that she did not believe Heimlich should be playing baseball, either in college or in the future as a pro.

"I don't think he is a terrible person," she told the Times. "I think he did a terrible thing."

Heimlich called his case "a delicate family situation," but declined to elaborate. Asked by the Times whether he would plead guilty if he had a chance to do it over again, Heimlich said, "I am not sure."

Previously, Heimlich's only public comments this season had come following his OSU pitching performances and had focused only on baseball.

Last week, Heimlich declined an interview request by The Oregonian/OregonLive to discuss his case. He also declined The Oregonian/OregonLive's interview request before the 2018 baseball season.

Heimlich did not respond to several requests for comment by The Oregonian/OregonLive in June 2017 before the original story's publication.

In the wake of the story, Heimlich decided to step away from the team, which went on to win NCAA super regionals and advance to the College World Series. Heimlich released a statement then that said he had "taken responsibility for my conduct when I was a teenager."

As part of his guilty plea, Heimlich entered a diversion program, received two years of probation and was ordered to attend sex offender treatment for two years, according to court records.

"I'm grateful for the counseling I received," Heimlich's June 2017 statement said, "and since then, I realized that the only way forward was to work each day on becoming the best person, community member and student I can possibly be. I understand that many people now see me differently, but I hope that I can eventually be judged for the person I am today."

Court records from Heimlich's case are no longer public.

In August 2017, at the five-year anniversary of his guilty plea, Heimlich was eligible to have his case sealed. Heimlich told the Times he did so, and Pierce County's juvenile court this week confirmed it has no record of the case.

The deputy prosecuting attorney on Heimlich's case, John Neeb, can't speak about a case that has been sealed.

Speaking generally, Neeb told The Oregonian/OregonLive that he files charges only in cases "that I believe I can prove at trial."

Neeb said juveniles who plead guilty detail their offense in writing. A judge also typically asks the juvenile to verbally acknowledge the crime at the time of a plea.

"If a person who pled guilty says they're innocent," Neeb said generally, "then they're saying they lied to the judge at the time they entered their plea."

Court records previously obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive show Heimlich, when asked to state in his own words what he did that makes him guilty of the crime, wrote: "I admit that I had sexual contact" with the family member.

Despite the sealing of Heimlich's juvenile case, his standing as a registered sex offender is not clear-cut.

In August, a Washington judge ended the requirement for Heimlich to register in that state as a sex offender, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.

But Heimlich is still registered in Oregon as a sex offender and is required to maintain that registration, according to Capt. Timothy Fox of the Oregon State Police.

"The relief or satisfaction of registration requirements in another state does not affect registration requirements in the state of Oregon, as Oregon is a lifetime registration state," Fox said in an email. "The registered sex offender must petition for relief within Oregon separately."

Heimlich returned to the Beavers this season, with the support of coach Pat Casey and OSU President Ed Ray. The senior left-hander is 11-1 this season with a 3.01 ERA and owns the school record for strikeouts.

Oregon State (35-7-1, 14-6-1 Pac-12 Conference) is ranked No. 4 in the country and sits in second place in the Pac-12 standings behind No. 2 Stanford (37-6, 17-4).