The trial of Wander Franco is set to commence on Monday, with prosecutors in the Dominican Republic reportedly asserting they possess ‘conclusive evidence’ against the fallen baseball star.
Franco is facing charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking.
At 24 years old, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating claims that he engaged in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her approval.
The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop is due in court on Monday for the start of the trial, the Dominican public prosecutor’s office announced.
The alleged victim’s mother will also stand trial on charges of sexual exploitation and money laundering.
The indictment from the Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses Franco Aybar of abducting the victim for sexual activities over several days in the municipality of Villa Montellano, located in the province of Puerto Plata, according to a statement.
The sexual abuse trial of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco will begin on Monday
He faces charges of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking
‘(He) then sent large sums of money to her mother (now under indictment) to prevent her from reporting him. It indicates that the defendant used the money to purchase personal and real property.’
The authorities are said to be ‘confident in the strength and legality of the evidence to secure a conviction against the accused.’ ESPN reports that the evidence is considered ‘conclusive’.
Back in December, however, Franco’s sexual abuse trial began, only to be delayed for seven months amid confusion over the whereabouts of one witness.
The MLB player appeared in court in Puerto Plata alongside his lawyer Teodosio Jaquez, who has maintained that prosecutors do not have enough evidence in the case.
He is currently on supervised release within his native Dominican Republic.
After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela ruled last September that the evidence was worthy of the case moving to trial.
‘It’s a solid accusation and the court understood it,’ prosecutor Claudio Cordero said in September. ‘The evidence linked the defendants to what’s described in the accusation.’
If convicted, Franco could face up to 20 years in prison. He’s also facing separate gun-related charges in the Dominican Republic and could face up to five additional years behind bars if convicted.
If convicted, Dominican-born Franco – who is now 24 – could face up to 20 years in prison
The authorities allege that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos (or $17,000) to the mother of the minor on January 5, 2023, to consent to the abuse.
Prosecutors say that the minor’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading an ostentatious life and acquiring assets using the funds she received from Franco. During raids on the house of the minor’s mother, prosecutors say they found $68,500 and $35,000 that they allege was delivered by Franco.
After the hearing in September, Franco said ‘everything is in God’s hands.’ He has otherwise refused to speak to the media.
Franco, who signed a $182million, 11-year contract with the Rays in 2021, was also arrested in November for illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle. It followed an argument in an apartment complex parking lot. Another man and a woman also were detained in the confrontation. Two firearms were seized, police said.
The firearm was registered under his uncle’s name and one of Franco’s lawyers said because the gun has a license, ‘there’s nothing illegal about it.’
