Wander Franco's sex abuse trial has been postponed 5 months

PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, was postponed on Thursday and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025.

Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing at the request of prosecutors because of the absence of several key witnesses in the case. Only three out of 31 witnesses arrived to the hearing on Thursday.

Franco's lawyers asked the court to reconsider the postponement, arguing Franco must report to spring training in mid-February.

''There is no case against Wander, for as many witnesses as they present, there is no case now,'' Franco's lead lawyer Teodosio Jáquez told The Associated Press after the hearing.

The judge replied that Franco is obligated to continue with the trial schedule and his conditional release from detainment.

The 23-year-old shortstop said that his career is not over yet, that he wants justice to be done and that ''everything is in God's hands.''

Franco was a little upset when reporters ask him if his MLB career was over.

''I did not had a career," he said implying that he still has it. "This is not over.''

Franco was in the midst of his third major league season when his career was halted in August 2023. He agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021.

Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list on July 10, cutting off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.

Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge in July and were viewed by the AP alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos (about $17,000) to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the abuse. The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.

Prosecutors say 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.

In a separate case that happened in November, Franco was also charged with illegally carrying a gun in his vehicle during an altercation in a parking lot in the Dominican Republic countryside.

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This story has been corrected to remove an erroneous reference to Franco not being allowed to leave the Dominican Republic.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb