Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was found criminally liable for sexually and psychologically abusing a minor, yet he will avoid serving a sentence, according to a ruling issued by a Dominican judge on Monday.
In his verdict, Judge José Antonio Núñez emphasized that Franco had been a target of extortion and blackmail orchestrated by the minor’s mother. The judge sentenced the mother to a decade in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.
“Although it seems paradoxical to establish criminal liability while waiving punishment, Franco has been granted judicial clemency,” Núñez elaborated. “His circumstances rendered him a material victim, though not in the legal sense.”
The judge rationalized the granting of judicial pardon through “logical and legal reasoning.”
“I’m grateful to God for everything,” Franco declared, hugging his mother, Nancy Aybar, and other family members who stood by him in the courtroom.
Franco’s arrest occurred in January 2024 following allegations of a four-month relationship with a 14-year-old girl. He was accused of transferring substantial funds to the girl’s mother to facilitate the unlawful relationship. While he faced charges of sexual and commercial exploitation of a minor and human trafficking, he was previously acquitted of these accusations.
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After the ruling, Franco left the courthouse alongside his lawyer, Teodosio Jáquez, and briefly answered reporters’ questions, saying, “I feel calm,” and asking his fans to “continue supporting me and trusting in me.”
Franco also said he personally had not contacted the Rays but that his lawyers surely had.
“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.
Franco attorney Jáquez said: “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.”
The full sentencing will be on June 16.
“When we have the full sentence in hand, we will give you more details,” Jáquez said. “He was exempted from punishment, and we think that’s fine, but we need to have the sentence in hand.
In November 2021, Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million contract with the Rays, but his career was upended when authorities in the Dominican Republic announced in August 2023 that they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was 22 at the time.
Six months after his arrest, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.
