Miami ? Florida International University baseball star Garrett Wittels and a group of friends were arrested in the Bahamas last week and charged with the rape of two 17-year-old girls.

The incident happened at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Paradise Island on Dec. 20. Wittels and two friends were each released on $10,000 bond after a court hearing Thursday.

The others involved in the incident are Robert Rothschild, 21, and Jonathan Oberti, 21, Steven Tromberg of Miami, and David Shapiro, according to Bahamian Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez in Nassau.

Wittels, Rothschild and Oberti were all charged with rape in connection with 17-year-old American girls. Tromberg and Shapiro are still being held pending a hearing that could take place as early as today.

Wittels, 20, holds the second-longest hitting streak in NCAA history and is expected to make a run at breaking that record when the baseball season begins in February.

In a telephone interview Monday morning, Wittels’ father, Michael Wittels, confirmed that Garrett had been arrested in the Bahamas, but told The Miami Herald Monday that when all the facts come out, his son would be vindicated.

“Anyone can accuse anyone of anything at any time,” said Michael Wittels, a Bay Harbor Islands orthopedist. “He’s not doing well, obviously. He’s blown away. He’s devastated that someone would accuse him of this.”

Garrett Wittels met his friends in the Bahamas on Dec. 18. On Twitter, on Dec. 17, Wittels tweeted to the four friends: “Less than 24 hours.” On Dec. 18, he tweeted “About to take off ATLANTIS. Back Wednesday.” Then he didn’t tweet for a week.

According to Michael Wittels, Garrett and his friends met the girls in question at the Bahamian casino, and they later followed the young men willingly to a private party.

Surveillance video exists, Michael Wittels added, showing the girls — and not the accused — were the aggressors, at least in public.

The age of the girls, who passed themselves off as students at Arkansas and were drinking in the casino, is not an issue in the case. The age of consent for sexual activity is 16 in the Bahamas.

“The next morning, they found out who (Wittels) was, and that was the road they took,” Michael Wittels said. “He hasn’t been found guilty of anything. I hope (the media) doesn’t hang him for merely an allegation. That’s all this is.”

The family wanted to make clear that it was a personal matter, and not one involving Florida International University, as the arrest occurred far off campus and while Wittels was on winter break.

Michael Wittels said it was too soon to know what effect the arrest might have on Wittels’ eligibility. He is set to resume his chase of Robin Ventura’s NCAA record 58-game hitting streak the weekend of Feb. 18-20, 2011, but it’s not clear what steps, if any, the NCAA will take.

FIU athletic director Pete Garcia said the department has been made aware of the situation, but has no comment at this time.

“We will continue to gather any possible information as it becomes available,” Garcia said.