(27 Jun 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic – 26 June 2025
1. Franco sitting in courtroom wiping his eyes
2. Franco leaving the courtroom with his attorney Irina Ventura
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Irina Ventura, attorney Wander Franco:
“Justice was not done. You heard the debates and saw that the most controversial and fundamental points of Wander’s defence were not substantiated in the oral decision. We have to wait for the written decision to evaluate what will be the terms of his appeal.”
4. Franco leaving the courtroom and getting into car
STORYLINE:
Wander Franco, the suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, has been found guilty in a sexual abuse case involving a minor.
On Thursday, a Dominican Republic court sentenced him to a two-year suspended sentence. Franco was accused of having a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and transferring money to her mother for consent. Prosecutors sought a five-year prison term for Franco and a 10-year sentence for the girl’s mother, who will serve her full term.
Major League Baseball acknowledged the verdict and stated it would conclude its investigation later. Franco’s career remains on hold amid ongoing legal issues.
Franco, now 24, also faced charges of sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.
Prosecutors had requested a five-year prison sentence against Franco and a 10-year sentence against the girl’s mother, who was found guilty and will serve the full term.
Franco, who was once the team’s star shortstop, had signed a $182 million, 11-year contract through 2032 in November 2021 but saw his career abruptly halted in August 2023 after authorities in the Dominican Republic announced they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was 22 at the time.
In January 2024, authorities arrested Franco in the Dominican Republic. Six months later, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.
While Franco awaited trial on conditional release, he was arrested again in November last year following what Dominican authorities called an altercation over a woman’s attention. He was charged with illegally carrying a semiautomatic Glock 19 that police said was registered to his uncle.
That case is still pending in court.
After the ruling, Major League Baseball issued a brief statement noting it had collectively bargained a joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy “that reflects our commitment to these issues.”
“We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,” MLB said.
AP Video shot by Martin Adames
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