Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial in sexual abuse case
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco watches from the dugout during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will go to trial on charges that he sexually abused a minor, a judge in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday.
After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecutors was worthy of the case moving to trial.
No date has been set for the trial, which will be handled by a panel of judges. In the Dominican Republic, there are no jury trials.
Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors filed multiple charges against Franco six months after a judge ordered that he be investigated in connection with alleged sexual and psychological abuse of the girl.
Franco, who has refused to speak to the media, attended the hearing that lasted five hours and said after that “everything is in God's hands.”
Teodosio Jáquez, Franco’s lawyer, said that the outcome was expected while prosecutors declared that the judge’s decision validates the evidence presented.
“It’s a solid accusation and the court understood it. The evidence linked the defendants to what’s described in the accusation,” said the prosecutor, Claudio Cordero.
Franco arrived at the hearing around 9 a.m. with his head down. He kept quiet and listened to his lawyers and the prosecutors during his time in court.
Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge in July and were viewed by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos or $17,000 to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the abuse.
The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.
Prosecutors say that the minor’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading an ostentatious life and acquiring assets that she cannot justify using the funds she received from Franco.
During raids on the house of the minor’s mother, prosecutors say they found $68,500 and $35,000 that they allege was delivered by Franco.
If convicted, Franco could face up to 20 years in prison.
Franco, who turned 23 on March 1, was in the midst of his third major league season when his career was halted in August 2023. He agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021.
Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list last month, cutting off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave
