Rays’ Wander Franco officially charged with sexual abuse

Wander Franco was charged in the Dominican Republic with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor due to an alleged relationship with a 14-year-old girl. ESPN reported on Tuesday evening.

Franco, 23, has been on leave since the allegations came to light on social media last August when photos of the Rays infielder and the girl surfaced.

According to the Associated Press, the girl’s mother was also included in Tuesday’s indictment.

Franco allegedly paid the woman thousands of dollars to agree to the four-month relationship, the AP reported.

His last game for the Rays was on August 12. He was placed on leave shortly after the disturbing allegations became known.

Franco was placed on leave again at the start of this MLB season.

The formal complaint was originally filed on July 10, 2023, and prosecutors had until last Friday to file charges against Franco, but according to AP, Dominican Republic law allows a judge to give the prosecution an additional 10 days to present its “conclusions.”

Franco was summoned to a meeting with the Dominican authorities in December, but did not appear for a personal meeting with the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Children and Adolescents.

This led to his arrest for failure to appear on January 1, but he was released a week later.

The conditions of his release included that he had to report for mandatory check-ins in the Dominican Republic on the 30th of each month.

Charges of money laundering and commercial sexual exploitation were dropped upon Franco’s release in January. Instead, he was accused of sexual and psychological abuse, ESPN reported.

Authorities accused Franco of “kidnapping the minor from her home in Puerto Plata in December 2022 and having a four-month relationship with her with the consent of the girl’s mother,” the Associated Press reported in January.

Franco, an American League All-Star last year, signed a franchise-record 11-year, $182 million contract in 2021.

MLB has continued its own investigation into Franco’s alleged relationship, but ESPN reported that it is not expected to be completed until the criminal case is resolved.