Wander Franco trial: Rays star faces sexual abuse, human trafficking charges in Dominican Republic
Associated Press
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Thursday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl. Now 23, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.