Rays star Wander Franco faces sexual abuse, human trafficking charges in Dominican Republic

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco watches from the dugout during a game against the Cleveland Guardians in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Aug. 13, 2023. (Chris O'Meara / AP Photo)

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.

Now 23, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent.

Here's what to know about the trial:

What are the charges against Wander Franco?

Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, ruled in September that the evidence presented by prosecutors was worthy of the case moving to trial.

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 one million pesos or US$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 using the funds she received from Franco. During raids on the house of the minor’s mother, prosecutors say they found US$68,500 and US$35,000 that they allege was delivered by Franco.

After the hearing in September, Franco said “everything is in God’s hands.” He has otherwise refused to speak to the media.

When is Franco's trial?

The trial will be held Dec. 12 at a court in the northern province of Puerto Plata. His case will be heard by either three or five judges. There are no jury trials in the Dominican Republic. The judges will hear the arguments from both sides and the witnesses' testimony, and then analyze the evidence and deliver a verdict. The trial could take up to eight months to conclude, based on the average duration of trials in the Dominican Republic.

What could be his sentence if found guilty?

If convicted, Franco could face up to 20 years in prison.

Is Franco being held in jail?

Franco has been free on supervised release, although he had been required to make monthly control visits to the judge.

He was also arrested and granted another supervised release in November for illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle. The arrest followed an argument in an apartment complex parking lot. Another man and a woman also were detained in the confrontation. Two firearms were seized, police said. Dominican judge Viamerca Ruiz said Franco needs to report to court once a month while he is being investigated for carrying the firearm that was registered under his uncle’s name. One of Franco's lawyers said because the gun has a license, “there's nothing illegal about it.”

A conviction for illegally possessing a firearm could prompt a three- to five-year prison sentence.

Is Franco still being paid?

No, but he was for nearly a year after Dominican authorities opened their probe.

Franco, who signed a US$182 million, 11-year contract with the Rays in 2021, was briefly placed on the restricted list and then administrative leave in August 2023 when Dominican authorities opened their investigation. Because administrative leave is not disciplinary under the sport's joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, 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 that time, MLB placed Franco — who had a $2 million salary in 2024 — on its restricted list, cutting off the pay he had been receiving under administrative leave.

He had been receiving 50 per cent 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 disclosed publicly. That meant Franco accrued US$559,140, or half of his salary for 104 days of the 186-day season.

MLB is likely to wait until the Dominican trial is concluded before deciding whether there will be any discipline.

___

AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report.