Former Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco to go on trial

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Former Tampa Bay Rays’ shortstop Wander Franco will go on trial on Wednesday in the Dominican Republic. This comes a little over a month after Franco was formally charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl in the country.

Franco will be tried in a court in the province of Puerto Plata in the north part of the country, where the crimes allegedly occurred.

The indictment against Franco also includes the teenage girl’s mother, who is under house arrest and faces a money laundering charge. She is scheduled to be in court today too.

Prosecutors said Franco gave money to his own mother to pay the girl’s mother in an effort to hide the funds, totaling thousands of dollars over four months. Prosecutors concluded that Franco’s mother cannot prove where she got the funds and that she deposited them in the account of the minor’s mother, who she did not know.

Officials said the young girl’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading a wealthy life and buying things she could not explain with just her salary.

The most serious charges Franco faces are for rape and human trafficking, which could mean dozens of years in prison.

Prosecutors filed multiple charges against Franco six months after a judge ordered that he be investigated in connection with sexual and psychological abuse of the girl.

The MLB moved Franco from administrative leave to its restricted list as well, meaning he is no longer being paid by the Rays. According to a person familiar with his situation, he received half his salary, or a little more than $500,000, while on administrative leave. He stopped playing for the team almost one year to the day ago.

8 On Your Side has a reporter in the Dominican Republic to cover Franco’s trial and will continue to update this story as court starts.

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