Tampa Bay Rays superstar Wander Franco has been charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor, according to ESPN.
Franco is still receiving his $2 million salary, despite not having appeared in an MLB game since the allegations first surfaced last summer. He remains under contract through 2032 and is reportedly owed $174 million.
He is alleged to have had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paid her mother thousands of dollars to obtain her consent.
The Dominican Republic prosecutor’s office had 15 days to file formal charges against Franco, and that process has now been completed, paving the way for the MLB star to face trial in his home country.
Franco was initially suspended by the Rays before being placed on administrative leave until June 1, per an agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, according to ESPN.
Wander Franco has been formally charged with sexual abuse against a minor
He allegedly had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paid her mother to obtain her consent
Meanwhile, the money laundering and sexual exploitation charges were dismissed earlier this year after Franco was released from jail. He was held for a week after failing to respond to a subpoena from prosecutors.
In April, a judge in the Dominican Republic rejected Franco’s request to end his monthly check-ins with authorities and return his bail of about $35,000.
According to prosecutors and testimony from the girl and other family members, Franco paid the 14-year-old girl’s mother thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts in exchange for the mother’s consent to have a sexual relationship with her daughter.
The Code for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, Law 136-03 of the Dominican Republic, considers sexual abuse any relationship between a minor and a person five years older. Franco began a relationship with the girl when she was 14 and he was 21.
