Disgraced $182m MLB star Wander Franco dodges jail despite being found guilty of sexually abusing a minor

Wander Franco, the former $182million Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, has avoided prison, despite being found guilty for a second time on charges of sexual and psychological abuse of a minor on Monday. 

Franco was arrested in January 2024 after being accused of having a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time and transferring thousands of dollars to her mother to consent to the illegal relationship. 

Judge José Antonio Núñez declared the former MLB star criminally responsible for the sexual and psychological abuse of a minor during a hearing in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. 

However, the judge, in his decision, considered that Franco had been the victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor’s mother. Franco will not serve prison time as part of his sentence. 

The minor’s mother, however, was sentenced to ten years in prison for sexually trafficking her daughter.

More to follow.