On Thursday, June 26, 2025, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Juan Recio broke the news that a Dominican Republic court found former Tampa Bay Rays superstar shortstop Wander Franco guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic.
Franco, 24, had a sexual relationship with a 14 year old girl when he was 21. He met the young girl online and both of their encounters took place in 2022. Franco received a two-year prison sentence for the conviction, but judge Judge Jakayra Veras suspended the sentence, saying Franco would not actually serve any further jail time unless he fails to meet conditions set by the judge.
The main condition set by Judge Veras was that Franco not approach any other minors with sexual intentions.
Franco remains on Major League Baseball’s restricted list and could receive further discipline from the league under its domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy. He is unlikely to come off the restricted list unless he obtains a U.S. work visa, which is extremely unlikely now that he has received the guilty verdict.
“Major League Baseball is proud to have a collectively bargained Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy that reflects our commitment to these issues,” the league said in a statement. “We are aware of today’s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time.”
Franco signed a 11-year, $182 million contract extension with the Rays back on November 27, 2021. The Rays will not pay him that contract as long as he remains on MLB’s restricted list.
Franco looked like a future star before the allegations surfaced in August 2023. Once ranked the No. 1 prospect in the entire MLB, he had broken out in 2023, made the All-Star game earlier in the season and logged a 5.4 bWAR in 112 games before his career came to a halt.
Victim’s Mother Gets 10-Year Prison Sentence
Martha Vanessa, the mother of the victim in the Franco case, got a much more severe punishment than he did.
The courts found Vanessa guilty of sexually trafficking her daughter and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors proved that she solicited money from Franco and laundered money as well.
Prosecutors also said that when Dominican police conducted a raid of the victim’s home, they found $68,500 in American cash in addition to 800,000 Dominican pesos (around $13,700).
Franco Faces Charges in Another Case
The legal trouble likely isn’t over for Franco.
On Sunday June 8, 2025, prosecutors charged Franco with illegal possession of a handgun.
The charges stem from an incident on November 10, 2024 where authorities arrested Franco in San Juan de la Maguana following a confrontation in a parking lot.
No one was injured during the fight.
The gun is registered to Franco’s uncle, which according to Franco’s lawyer, means there was nothing illegal about Franco possessing it.
Prosecutors are requesting that Franco stand trial on the gun charges as well, so it’s likely that he will be back in court soon enough.
On the other hand, though technically possible, it is unlikely that he will ever set foot on a baseball field for an MLB team ever again.
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