News about Wander Franco

MLB star Wander Franco WILL stand trial for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor in his native Dominican Republic

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 27, 2024
Major League Baseball star Wander Franco will go to trial on charges that he sexually abused a minor, a judge in the Dominican Republic has ruled. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecutors was worthy of the case moving to trial. No date has been set for the trial, which will be handled by a panel of judges. In the Dominican Republic, there are no jury trials. A star shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. Prosecutors filed multiple charges against Franco six months after a judge ordered that he be investigated in connection with alleged sexual and psychological abuse of the girl.

MLB star Wander Franco smiles as he exits Dominican courtroom in sexual abuse trial after 14-year-old alleged victim's attorney pushed for DISMISSAL

www.dailymail.co.uk, August 14, 2024
Embattled Major League star Wander Franco was seen smiling on his way out of a Dominican courtroom on Wednesday after a preliminary hearing in his trial for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor was postponed until September 26. What's more, an attorney representing the alleged victim has motioned the judge in Puerta Plata to dismiss the case altogether. The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, who remains on leave from Major League Baseball, stands accused of sexually and psychologically abusing of a 14-year-old girl. He has been charged with the sexual abuse of a minor, exploitation of a minor, and human trafficking in the year-old case.

Wander Franco now faces human trafficking charges carrying a 20-year prison sentence in the Dominican Republic after the Rays star was booked for sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor

www.dailymail.co.uk, July 10, 2024
Dominican authorities are accusing Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco of human trafficking on top of the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor charges he was already facing in his native country, according to ESPN. The human trafficking charge carries a penalty of 20 years in prison. He is alleged to have had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and is accused of paying her mother thousands of dollars for her consent.

MLB star Wander Franco 'is CHARGED with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor'

www.dailymail.co.uk, July 10, 2024
Tampa Bay Rays superstar Wander Franco has been formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor, according to ESPN. Franco is still being paid his $2million salary, despite not appearing in an MLB game since allegations first surfaced in the summer of 2023. He remains under contract through 2032 and is reportedly owed $174m. He is alleged to have had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. 

Wander Franco 'to be formally accused of sexual exploitation of a minor' in new twist in case involving MLB star

www.dailymail.co.uk, May 8, 2024
Wander Franco will reportedly be formally accused of commercial sexual exploitation of a minor over an alleged relationship with a 14-year-old girl. According to local newspaper, El Nuevo Diario, prosecutors in the Dominican Republic are planning to put forward formal allegations against the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop in June.  The authorities reportedly have until July to present formal accusations against the 23-year-old. 

Wander Franco 'is placed on administrative leave until June 1' as the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop stands accused of having sexual relationship with a girl, 14, and paying off her mother in the Dominican Republic

www.dailymail.co.uk, March 28, 2024
According to reports, Wander Franco, the Tampa Bay Rays' shortstop, has been placed on administrative leave pending federal investigation into his suspected inappropriate relationship with a minor. Franco, 23, faces allegations of sexual and psychological assault of a 14-year-old girl, who is allegedly having a teen boyfriend and paying her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. According to ESPN, Franco, who was originally suspended by the Rays, has now been placed on administrative leave until June 1 as a result of a deal between MLB and the MLBPA.

Wander Franco appears on a video of himself playing baseball in the DR

www.dailymail.co.uk, March 20, 2024
Franco, who is still under Rays control, appears to have returned to his homeland just eight days before MLB's Opening Day on March 28. The Rays will face the Toronto Blue Jays on the day. Franco has been advised by his legal counsels not to return to the United States for the 2024-25 MLB season because it could result in a high likelihood of being arrested by authorities due to ongoing court cases in the Dominican.

Wander Franco, a MLB player, has bank accounts in the Dominican Republic, amid a legal battle involving the Rays shortstop. As the Rays shortstop says of having a sexual affair with a child, 14 years old, and paying her mother, she is convicted of having a sexual affair with a child.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 22, 2024
As the suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop faces allegations of sexual and psychological abuse of a 14-year-old teen, Wander Franco's bank accounts in the Dominican Republic have reportedly been confiscated. Franco is accused by Televisión Pblica of breaching one deal with his lawyers and refusing to pay their fees for services that has already been completed. Franco is accused of being in a family affair with the teen and securing her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. Franco, who was originally accused of financial and sexual exploitation as well as money laundering, is now accused of sexual assault and money laundering, but instead of sexual and psychological abuse, according to a judge's decision that The Associated Press obtained on Tuesday. Franco has not been charged officially, but if found guilty of the latest charge, he may face up to five years in prison.

Wander Franco's Rays are postponing his spring training deadline as an investigation into a suspected illicit relationship with a 14-year-old teen continues.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 19, 2024
On Sunday, Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco skipped registration for spring training with the Rays - the team's first official full-roster workout. In his native Dominican Republic, the 22-year-old is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the remainder of the Rays' position players reported for training on Sunday, ahead of Monday's workout.

Wander Franco, the Rays' former star, will appear in court next month in the Dominican Republic as a judge challenges the teen girl at the center of the sexual harassment investigation

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 29, 2024
Barring a no-show, the 22-year-old baseball player, who has been accused of physical and sexual abuse, as well as sexual harassment of a 14-year-old teen, is expected to face a judge who has indefinitely put his baseball career on hold. Franco paid the girl's mother thousands of dollars in cash and other gifts in exchange for the mother's consent to engage in a sexual relationship with her daughter, according to prosecutors and testimony from her child and other family members. Franco is expected back in court on February 8, when the judge will question the girl. Judge Marcelino Henriquez will lead the hearing before the minor's advance testimony is granted so that it can be included in any formal charges brought against Franco - without her having to appear at trial.

Wander Franco, a teen girl who suffered with inappropriate conduct in the wake of troubling new claims concerning the Tampa Bay Rays MLB superstar, "I took the risk and loved it" after revelations of wrong behavior with a 14-year-old girl

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 20, 2024
In a bombshell report, MLB star Wander Franco allegedly sent the 14-year-old girl a letter accusing him of having an inappropriate relationship with whom he has been denied. According to ESPN, Tampa Bay Rays star Franco put in Spanish that he put her in jeopardy by becoming involved with the adolescent, saying in Spanish: "My girl, if my team knows this, it will cause problems for me." It is a rule for all clubs that we can't speak to minors, but I took the risk and loved it.' The letter was apparently sent after the allegations of Franco's conduct had surfaced on social media.

Despite a $182 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays, Wander Franco advised "not to even try" to return to the United States while on bail in the midst of an ongoing probe into suspected inappropriate conduct with a minor

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 9, 2024
Despite being refused entry into the country, Wander Franco has been warned not to enter the country until he is prosecuted for allegedly insensitive relations with a 14-year-old boy in the Dominican Republic. Franco, 22, a Tampa Bay Rays man, released a $35,000 bond and left prison on Monday afternoon, with a judge advising him to leave the country if he so desired, provided he reports back to authorities in his native country once a month. But this doesn't mean he'll return to the United States and practice with the Rays - or even consider playing for them - ahead of the new season.

Wander Franco has dropped out of prison after a judge ordered the MLB star's rehabilitation after an inquiry into suspected inappropriate conduct with a minor

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 8, 2024
Since posting about $35,000., Wander Franco has apparently been released from prison on bail in the Dominican Republic. The 22-year-old Rays star has been charged with an unlawful friendship with a child. Last Friday, a judge in the Dominican Republic ordered his conditional release, despite the fact that the probe continues.

Wander Franco is conditionally released by Dominican judge on bail of $34,000 while probe continues into the Rays shortstop's alleged relationship with a minor

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 5, 2024
Franco, who was detained in the Dominican Republic's northern province of Puerto Plata on Monday, hasn't been charged with any criminal charges. After his court appearance on Friday, he did not speak to reporters. The 22-year-old All-Star has been charged with financial corruption and money laundering. The judge in this case, Rumaldi Marcelino, had many choices for a decision on Friday: release Franco on bond, temporarily arrest him, refuse him from leaving the Dominican Republic, or demand that he make occasional appearances before the investigation or trial has concluded.

As the Rays shortstop goes on trial for the suspected sexual assault of a 14-year-old teen, Wander Franco supporters protest outside his Dominican courthouse to demand his freedom

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 5, 2024
Wander Franco's supporters gathered outside a courthouse in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on Friday to demand his release as the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop faces allegations of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering. According to legal documents obtained by The Associated Press, Franco reportedly had a brief acquaintance with a 14-year-old girl and gave her mother a small car and thousands of dollars in exchange for her consent. Outside, a select group of young Dominican players dressed in baseball shirts gathered to help Franco, with posters that read: 'Free Franco' and 'We all are Franco.' One sign read: 'Hay Un Abuso Lucrativo,' meaning that the suspected assault is 'lucrative' to the victim.

Wander Franco appears in court in Dominican Republic for an inquiry into a minor's suspected friendship with a child after it was revealed that he paid the accused victim's mother more than $1,500-a-month in hush money

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 5, 2024
After missing a meeting with the prosecutor prosecuting the lawsuit, the 22-year-old, who denies the charges, was arrested earlier this week. On Wednesday, Franco, a shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, appeared in court in his homeland. Prosecutors had brought the lawsuit, but the All-Star's appearance before a judge has now been postponed until Friday, at 9 a.m. The MLB star was taken to the Puerto Plata courthouse on Friday morning, arriving in handcuffs and being led by police.

Wander Franco's alleged victim speaks out for the first time to slam her own mom over $1,500-a-month hush money paid by the MLB star: 'Since I was little, my mother has seen me as a way to profit'

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 4, 2024
Allegation : An underage teen who reportedly had sex with Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Wander Franco told Dominican Republic investigators that her mother exploited her friendship with Franco and other boyfriends to 'benefit' herself. 'Since she was young, my mother has seen me as a way for her to prosper from both the children she has had and my partners, and it is something she absolutely loove,' the minor said. The paper, which is part of the case evidence submitted by the Public Ministry in court on Wednesday, shows that Franco's mother, who has not been publicly revealed, approved Franco's marriage with him for a period of four months' in 2022.

According to Dominican prosecutors, Wander Franco's suspected victim was 14 when their relationship began and he paid her mother over $1,500-a-month in hush funds

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 4, 2024
On Wednesday, Dominican prosecutors charged Wander Franco with commercial sexual theft and money laundering after allegations that the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had an affair with a child whose mother faces the same charges. Prosecutors demanded that a judge arrest Franco on a RD$5 million ($86,000 USD) bond, excluding him from leaving the Dominican Republic and placing him under house arrest. The money laundering charges stemmed from allegations that Franco made payments to the minor's mother, according to them.

Wander Franco appeared in court on Friday after the investigation into the MLB player's suspected affair with a minor has been postponed, with prosecutors in the Dominican Republic's codename case: 'Operation Out 27'

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 3, 2024
Wander Franco is set to appear in the Dominican Republic on Friday morning for allegedly unlawful dating with a minor. After missing a meeting with the prosecutor prosecuting the case, the 22-year-old - who denies the charges - was arrested earlier this week. Franco, a shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, was initially scheduled in court in his homeland on Wednesday. Prosecutors had lodged the lawsuit, but the All-Star's appearance before a judge has now been postponed until Friday at 9 a.m., according to the solicitor.

According to reports, the mother of a suspected Wander Franco perpetrator who is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor was arrested for blackmailing the Rays actor

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 3, 2024
Wander Franco's suspected relationship with a minor has thrown another twist since the girl's mother was reportedly arrested on suspicion of blackmailing the MLB star. Franco, a shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays, has been charged with having an illicit affair with an underage girl in his native Dominican Republic. The 22-year-old, who denies the allegations, was arrested earlier this week after missing a meeting with the prosecutor probing the case. On Wednesday, he will appear before a judge.

Wander Franco was arrested in Dominican Republic after an interrogation by authorities probing allegations of a minor... with MLB star Drew Brees expected to appear before a judge this week.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 1, 2024
Wander Franco has reportedly been arrested in his native Dominican Republic following interrogations by authorities over a suspected inappropriate relationship with a minor. After finally visiting police probing the situation, Franco was arrested in Puerto Plata on Monday. According to Hector Gomez, the MLB star will be arraigned before a judge on Wednesday. Prosecutors are likely to request that Franco remain in jail without bond unless the investigation continues.

After a $182 million MLB star did not appear when summoned last week, Wander Franco FINALLY visits Dominican Republic prosecutors looking at his suspected unlawful relationship with a minor.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, January 1, 2024
Wander Franco, the MLB star accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a minor, has apparently visited Dominican Republic authorities who are investigating the situation. Last week, Franco's homes were searched by police in the hopes of finding him, and he was asked to consult with officials from the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Children and Adolescents in Santo Domingo, where he was born in December 28. At 11:45 a.m., local newspaper Listin Diario posted a video announcing his arrival and naming him as a no-show, and agency director Olga Dina Llaverias later reported he did not appear.

In the Dominican Republic, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco 'is a no-show to summoned by police to appear for questioning, despite allegations that the $182 million MLB star had an inappropriate relationship with a minor.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, December 28, 2023
Wander Franco, the Tampa Bay Rays' shortstop, has reportedly dismissed court summons in the Dominican Republic in connection with allegations of inappropriate relationships with a minor. He was set to appear in court at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. In the D.R., Franco owned two houses. As the young baseball player's search continues, police have been raided.

In the midst of charges that the $182 million MLB star had an inappropriate relationship with a minor, Wander Franco was summoned by police to appear in the Dominican Republic for questioning

www.dailymail.co.uk, December 27, 2023
Wander Franco, a Major League Baseball player, has been summoned by police in the Dominican Republic to appear for questioning after allegations of an inappropriate friendship with a juvenile. According to ESPN, the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop is set to be questioned at 11 a.m. on Thursday. It comes after police in his native Dominican Republic raided him on Tuesday, demanding that he be searched for him.