Tampa Bay Rays’ Wander Franco found guilty in sex abuse case, receives 2-year suspended sentence

PUERTO PLATA Dominican Republic AP Wander Franco the suspended Tampa Bay Rays shortstop charged in a sexual abuse situation was identified guilty on Thursday but received a two-year suspended sentence Franco was arrested last year after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was at the time and of transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship Franco now also faced charges of sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor and human trafficking but was discovered not guilty of those Judge Jakayra Veras Garc a declared Franco made a bad decision as she addressed him during the ruling Look at us Wander she explained Do not approach minors for sexual purposes If you don t like people very close to your age you have to wait your time Prosecutors had requested a five-year prison sentence against Franco and a -year sentence against the girl s mother who was revealed guilty and will serve the full term Apparently she was the one who thought she was handling the bat in the big leagues Veras noted of the mother and her request that Franco pay for her daughter s schooling and other expenses Franco s attorney Irina Ventura mentioned she would appeal the judge s ruling Evidently justice was not done Meanwhile prosecutor Luis Mart nez mentioned he was pleased with the rulings but did not say whether the governing body would appeal Before the three judges issued their unanimous ruling Veras orally reviewed the copious amount of evidence that prosecutors presented during trial including certain testimony from bystanders This is a somewhat complex process Veras stated More than an hour into her presentation Veras disclosed The court has understood that this minor was manipulated As the judge continued her review Franco looked ahead expressionless leaning forward at times Franco who was once the gang s star shortstop had signed a million -year contract through in November but saw his career abruptly halted in August after personnel in the Dominican Republic revealed they were exploring him for an alleged relationship with a minor Franco was at the time In January administration arrested Franco in the Dominican Republic Six months later Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave He was placed on that list because he has not been able to document to the unit and would need a new U S visa to do so While Franco awaited trial on conditional release he was arrested again in November last year following what Dominican functionaries called an altercation over a woman s attention He was charged with illegally carrying a semiautomatic Glock that police announced was registered to his uncle That scenario is still pending in court After the ruling Major League Baseball issued a brief comment noting it had collectively bargained a joint domestic violence sexual assault and child abuse program that reflects our commitment to these issues We are aware of this day s verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our research at the appropriate time MLB reported