Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco’s sexual abuse trial began in the Dominican Republic on Thursday but was delayed until June amid confusion over the whereabouts of a witness.
Initial reports of The New Diary They claim the delay was due to the court’s inability to find a witness. Officials reportedly did not have the correct address, but why this will cause a seven-month delay remains a mystery.
Franco, now 23, was playing in an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations that he had a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for his consent.
Franco, with a goatee, arrived at the Puerto Plata court with his lawyer Teodosio Jáquez, who has maintained that prosecutors do not have enough evidence in the case.
Franco has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation of a minor, and human trafficking. He is currently on supervised release in his native Dominican Republic.
It’s unclear if this delay could allow him to return to the Rays while he waits for his trial to resume in June. An MLB spokesperson did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Rays shortstop Wander Franco, right, and his attorney Teodosio Jaquez arrive at court
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, left, sits in court with his attorney Teodosio Jaquez for his trial on charges of sexual abuse of a minor.
After an investigation that lasted more than a year, Judge Pascual Valenzuela ruled in September that the evidence presented by prosecutors was worthy of the case going to trial.
“It is a solid accusation and the court understood it,” prosecutor Claudio Cordero said in September, according to the Associated Press. “The evidence linked the defendants to what is described in the indictment.”
If convicted, Franco could face up to 20 years in prison. He also faces separate weapons charges in another case in the Dominican Republic and could face up to five additional years behind bars if convicted.
Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge in July and that were seen by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos or $17,000 to the minor’s mother on January 5, 2023, to give consent to the abuse. The minor’s mother has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.
The prosecution claims that the minor’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading an ostentatious life and acquiring assets with the funds she received from Franco. During the raids on the boy’s mother’s home, prosecutors say they found $68,500 and $35,000 that they allege was given by Franco.
After the September hearing, Franco said that “everything is in God’s hands.” Otherwise, he has refused to speak to the media.
The trial will take place on December 12 in a court in the northern province of Puerto Plata. Your case will be heard by three or five judges. There are no jury trials in the Dominican Republic. The judges will listen to the arguments of both sides and the testimony of witnesses, and then analyze the evidence and issue a verdict. The trial could take up to eight months to conclude, depending on the average length of trials in the Dominican Republic.
Franco has been on supervised release, although he had been required to make monthly monitoring visits to the judge.
Wander Franco arrives in court for his trial for sexual abuse of a minor
He allegedly had a relationship with the teenager and paid her mother for her consent.
Franco, 23, faces accusations of sexual and psychological abuse of a 14-year-old girl
He was also arrested and granted another supervised release in November for illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle. The arrest came after an argument in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Another man and a woman were also arrested in the confrontation. Two firearms were seized, police said.
Dominican Judge Viamerca Ruiz said Franco must appear in court once a month while he is investigated for carrying the firearm that was registered in his uncle’s name. One of Franco’s lawyers said that since the gun is licensed, “there is nothing illegal about it.”
A conviction for illegal possession of a firearm could result in a prison sentence of three to five years.
No, but it was for almost a year after Dominican authorities opened their investigation.
Franco, who signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays in 2021, was briefly placed on the restricted list and then placed on administrative leave in August 2023, when Dominican authorities opened their investigation. Because the administrative leave is not disciplinary under the sport’s joint policy on domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, Franco was paid during that time.
Technically, there is no leave during the offseason, and Franco was again placed on administrative leave at the start of the 2024 season until prosecutors filed the current charges on July 10. At the time, MLB placed Franco, who had a $2 million salary in 2024, on its restricted list, cutting off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.
He had been receiving 50 percent of his salary on administrative leave, a person familiar with his situation told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because that detail had not been publicly disclosed. That meant Franco amassed $559,140, or half his salary for 104 days of the 186-day season.
MLB will likely wait until the Dominican trial concludes before deciding whether there will be any disciplinary action.