The Puerto Plata prosecutor’s office officially presented an accusation against the shortstop Wander Franco for illegality and s3xual exploitation against a minor, the prosecutor, Kelmin Duncan, confirmed on Tuesday.
The deadline to file charges against Franco expired last Friday, but the prosecutor’s office had not yet been ordered to deposit the documents.
The filing of the accusation against Franco and the mother of the minor was also confirmed by Nairobi Viloria, in charge of Communications at the Attorney General’s Office, who did not offer more details.
In court documents, the prosecution requests that the case be sent to a substantive trial. In the request for a coercive measure, presented last January, Franco, 23, was accused of having had a s3xual relationship with the minor, when she was just 14 years old.
Franco has been on administrative leave in the Major Leagues since August of last year. On May 31, that administrative license was extended until July 14.
The decision was made by agreement between Major League Baseball and the Major League Players Union, allowing Franco to continue receiving his $2 million salary.
Shortly before the start of the 2024 season, on March 28 specifically, Franco returned to administrative leave and had been left on administrative leave until June 1.
The official documents presented by the Office of the Prosecutor for Children and Adolescents originally accused Franco of s3xual exploitation of a minor and money laundering.
The mother of the minor involved in the file also faces criminal charges for having claimed hundreds of thousands of pesos from the player.
In addition to the criminal case, Franco also faces a possible sanction from Major League Baseball for violation of the policy against domestic violence, s3xual abuse and minors.