Major League Baseball star Wander Franco was seen smiling as he left a Dominican courtroom on Wednesday after a preliminary hearing in his trial for alleged sexual abuse of a minor was postponed until September 26.
What’s more, a lawyer representing the alleged victim has asked for the case to be dismissed, citing lack of evidence.
The Tampa Bay Rays player, who remains on leave from Major League Baseball, is accused of sexually and psychologically abusing a 14-year-old girl. He is charged with sexual abuse of a minor, exploitation of a minor and human trafficking in a case dating back a year.
Franco is also accused of giving thousands of dollars to the girl’s mother to consent to the abuse, according to Dominican prosecutors.
The preliminary hearing for the former All-Star was postponed to September 26 because Franco’s defense team was not informed in advance about the audiovisual evidence that the prosecution was going to present.
Franco (smiling) leaves the court accompanied by his lawyer Teodosio Jaquez (right) in Puerto Plata
Wander Franco is accused of sexually and psychologically abusing a 14-year-old girl
Dinora Pimentel, a lawyer representing the girl’s father, William Gonzales, told reporters she will request that the charges against Franco be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Franco was seen walking with one of his lawyers and did not stop to answer questions from a group of reporters surrounding his truck outside the courthouse.
The Rays initially suspended him last season before placing him on administrative leave until June 1, per an agreement between MLB and the MLBPA, according to ESPN. Following the charges, MLB moved Franco from administrative leave to the restricted list, though ESPN’s Jeff Passan cautioned that this is “not a disciplinary measure.”
Franco is still receiving his $2 million salary, despite not having appeared in an MLB game since the allegations first surfaced in the summer of 2023. He remains under contract through 2032 and is reportedly owed $174 million.
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.
He was also accused by prosecutors of “abducting the minor from her home in Puerto Plata in December 2022 and maintaining a four-month relationship with her with the consent of the girl’s mother,” the Associated Press reported.
Franco began a relationship with the girl when she was 14, according to prosecutors.
The Code for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, Law 136-03 in the Dominican Republic, considers sexual abuse as 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, according to prosecutors.
Franco was named to his first All-Star Team last season and is considered one of the most exciting young players in Major League Baseball.
He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Rachelly Paulino, as first revealed by DailyMail.com last summer.
The couple have a five-bedroom home in Tampa (bought for $1.55 million in May 2023) and two children together, born in 2018 and 2022.
The Rays have struggled in his absence in 2024 and are just 59-60 on the season.
However, Tampa has another top prospect at shortstop in Junior Caminero, who was called up to the majors this week.
The 21-year-old shortstop is hitting .274 with 16 home runs for Triple-A Durham this season.