PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) 鈥� shortstop was declared criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, but he will not serve a sentence for it, a Dominican judge ruled Monday.
Judge Jos茅 Antonio N煤帽ez, in his decision, considered that Franco had been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor’s mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.
鈥淚t seems contradictory to declare criminal responsibility and at the same time exempt him from punishment. The court has granted Wander Franco a judicial pardon due to the particular circumstances that made him a material victim, but not a legal one,鈥� explained N煤帽ez.
The judge justified the judicial pardon as a 鈥渓ogical and legal reasoning.鈥�
鈥淭hank God for everything,鈥� Franco expressed as he effusively embraced his mother, Nancy Aybar, and other family members who accompanied him in court.
Franco was arrested in January 2024 after being accused of having a four-month relationship with at the time and transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to .
After the ruling, Franco left the courthouse alongside his lawyer, Teodosio J谩quez, and briefly answered reporters鈥� questions, saying, 鈥淚 feel calm,鈥� and asking his fans to 鈥渃ontinue supporting me and trusting in me.鈥�
Franco also said he personally had not contacted the Rays but that his lawyers surely had.
鈥淲e are aware of today鈥檚 verdict in the Wander Franco trial and will conclude our investigation at the appropriate time,鈥� Major League Baseball said in a statement.
Franco attorney J谩quez said: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have the physical sentence in our hands, but he was exempted from punishment because the president of the court established that he was also a victim and because he is exempted from punishment through judicial pardon.”
The full sentencing will be June 16.
鈥淲hen we have the full sentence in hand, we will give you more details,” J谩quez said. “He was exempted from punishment and we think that鈥檚 fine, but we need to have the sentence in hand.
In November 2021, with the Rays, but his career was upended when authorities in the Dominican Republic announced in August 2023 that they were investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor. Franco was 22 at the time.
Six months after his arrest, Tampa Bay placed him on the restricted list, which cut off the pay he had been receiving while on administrative leave.
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