Baseball player Wander Franco was convicted in the Dominican Republic of sexually abusing a minor
MLB shortstop In the Dominican Republic, Wander Franco is given a suspended sentence after a court finds him guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old.
According to the Associated Press, Wander Franco, 24, of the Tampa Bay Rays, was convicted on Thursday, June 26th, in the Dominican Republic of having an illicit sexual connection with a 14-year-old girl while he was 21. The three-judge panel reached a unanimous decision, although they deemed the case “complex” and decided not to reveal the evidence that was used in the trial.
“This is a somewhat complex process,” Judge Jakayra Veras García stressed, adding later that “the court has understood that this minor was manipulated.”
The presiding court sentenced Franco to two years of suspended prison with a number of undefined restrictions, the most important of which was to “stay away from children for sexual purposes.”
The victim’s mother, Martha Vanessa Chavalier Almonte, was also found guilty in connection with the case and given a 10-year prison sentence.
Six months after Franco’s initial arrest in the Dominican Republic in January 2024, Tampa Bay placed him on MLB’s restricted list, thereby terminating his paid administrative leave. While on restricted release in November, he was caught once more and accused of unlawfully carrying a Glock 19 that belonged to his uncle.
Franco’s future in professional baseball is seriously called into question by this conviction, which adds a major and unsettling chapter to his career.
