Wander Franco, the former $182million Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, has avoided prison, despite being found guilty on charges of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor on Monday.
Franco was arrested in January 2024 after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time and transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship.
Franco, now 24, was initially convicted in June of last year and given a two-year suspended sentence. However, after both sides appealed, a new trial was ordered.
On Monday, Judge José Antonio Núñez found the former MLB star guilty for a second time during a hearing in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
However, the judge, in his decision, ruled that Franco had been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor’s mother.
The ruling that Franco was both a defendant and victim therefore means that he will not serve prison time as part of his sentence.
Wander Franco, the former $182million Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, has avoided prison
He was found guilty for a second time on charges of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor
The minor’s mother, however, was sentenced to ten years in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.
After the ruling, Franco left the courthouse alongside his lawyer, Teodosio Jaquez, and briefly answered reporters’ questions, saying, ‘I feel calm,’ and asking his fans to ‘continue supporting me and trusting in me.’
The full sentencing will take place on June 16.
‘We don’t have the physical sentence in our hands, but he was exempted from punishment because the president of the court established that he was also a victim and because he is exempted from punishment through judicial pardon,’ said Jaquez, Franco’s attorney.
‘When we have the full sentence in hand, we will give you more details,’ Jaquez said. ‘He was exempted from punishment and we think that’s fine, but we need to have the sentence in hand.
Franco’s baseball career was left in ruins in August 2023 when authorities in the Dominican Republic announced in August 2023 that they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. He was 22 at the time.
In January 2024, Franco, who had signed an 11-year, $182 million contract in 2021, was arrested in his home country.
Six months later, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.
The former MLB star is seen being led out of court by his attorney Teodosio Jaquez
The judge ruled that Franco was both a defendant and victim, meaning he avoided jail
Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before authorities began investigating
Following Monday’s hearing, Franco said that he had not been in contact with the MLB franchise but that his lawyer had.
As of last June’s conviction, Franco remains on the restricted list, not being paid or accruing Major League service time. MLB has also launched an investigation of its own.
‘We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,’ Major League Baseball said in a statement late Monday afternoon.
While the ruling means that Franco avoids jail time, the verdict does not mean that he will necessarily emerge from the scandal unscathed with his MLB career intact.
While the pardon – on the basis that Franco has been considered a victim as well as a defendant – applies to the sentencing, it does not apply to the conviction.
Franco has still been found guilty of the crime, further reducing any chance of him make a comeback to the Major Leagues.
Franco was once one of the game’s brightest young stars, earning All-Star honors in 2023 while helping to turn Tampa into a contender.
