Tampa Bay Rays SS Wander Franco charged with sexual abuse of a minor

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been charged in the Dominican Republic with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Puerto Plata District Attorney Kelmin Duncan and Attorney General Nairobi Viloria confirmed to ESPN’s Juan Recio that they filed formal charges against Franco on Tuesday, four days after the original July 5 deadline.

Franco has been under investigation since July 10, 2023, when a complaint was filed against him for allegedly having sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl.

Franco was initially charged by Dominican prosecutors on January 3 with commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering; the mother of the girl, who was 14 when the alleged relationship began in December 2022, faced the same charges. Six days later, after further reviewing the evidence, a judge in the Dominican Republic instead charged Franco with a less serious allegation of sexual and psychological abuse.

In a nearly 600-page document obtained by ESPN and presented to the judge at a hearing in January, prosecutors shared the evidence they found in their investigation of Franco. The file includes transcripts of interviews with the girl and her relatives, as well as messages between Franco and the girl.

Jay Reisinger, Franco’s U.S.-based attorney, told The Associated Press he could not comment because Franco had not received formal notification of any charges.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association recently extended Franco’s administrative leave through July 14, a procedural move to buy more time while Dominican authorities work on the criminal case.

MLB has opened a separate investigation into Franco, which is not expected to be completed until the criminal case is resolved.

Franco, 23, agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract extension in November 2021, just 70 games into his major league career.

This report used information from ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Alden Gonzalez.