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Why Rays shortstop Wander Franco won't serve prison time despite sexual abuse of a minor conviction originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has not played in an MLB game since 2023 after he was first investigated, then arrested, for having an illegal relationship with a minor.
Franco was arrested in the Dominican Republic and was put on trial for his actions that spanned four months in 2025. On Monday, Franco's verdict finally came in as it was determined that he was criminally responsible but will not serve time for his actions.
While Franco will still go through sentencing in the Dominican Republic, this was the first step to the end of his case. Here's why Franco will not serve prison time despite being found guilty.
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Wander Franco verdict
On Monday, Wander Franco was convicted in his case sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, but he will not serve time. The judge presiding, Judge José Antonio Núñez, gave him a judicial pardon and determined that Franco himself was a victim of extortion and blackmail by the minor's mother, who will serve 10 years in prison for money laundering and sex trafficking.
"We don't 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," Franco's lawyer, Teodosio Jáquez, said, via ESPN.
Franco was arrested in January 2024 after accusations of having a relationship that was four months long with a 14-year-old girl when he was 22. Franco also allegedly paid the girl's mother thousands of dollars in exchange for her consent.
Franco's full sentencing will come on June 16.
Wander Franco MLB investigation
Major League Baseball has been investigation Franco since 2023, when Franco was being investigated for the illegal relationship. He was initially placed on administrative leave, but the Rays put him on the Restricted List on 2024 after the arrest, which meant the team didn't have to pay him.
In a statement after the verdict, MLB said it would "conclude our investigation at the appropriate time." Franco signed an 11-year, $182 million with the Rays in November of 2021.
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