Wander Franco convicted in his sexual abuse case

Wander Franco on Thursday in the Dominican Republic was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor and received a sentence as his punishment.

Franco was on trial for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the Dominican Republic when he was 21 years old. Franco was being tried for allegations of sexual abuse, sexual and commercial exploitation of a minor, and human trafficking.

He was found guilty of sexual abuse and sentenced to two years in prison, though the sentence was suspended. He will have to stay away from minors in order to avoid serving the full term.

Prosecutors were seeking a five-year prison sentence for Franco, as well as a 10-year sentence for the girl’s mother. The girl’s mother was convicted of trafficking her daughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She allegedly accepted payments from Franco to allow him to continue dating her daughter.

Franco was initially placed on administrative leave but was later put on MLB’s restricted list following the allegations. The now-24-year-old was an All-Star in 2023 with the Tampa Bay Rays when the allegations first became public. He had batted .281 with 23 doubles and 17 home runs in 112 games that season.

Franco was in the early parts of an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays that he had signed in 2021. He has not been receiving payments since July 2024.