A three-judge panel in the Dominican Republic found former All-Star shortstop Wander Franco guilty of sexual and psychological abuse of a 14-year-old girl on Monday, May 25. Despite the guilty verdict, Franco will not serve prison time, and the full decision i
By the time the verdict landed. it was already clear this wasn’t the kind of outcome that neatly closes a chapter. Former All-Star shortstop Wander Franco was found guilty on Monday. May 25 by a three-judge panel in the Dominican Republic of sexual and psychological abuse of a 14-year-old girl. but he will not serve prison time. according to the verdict reported that day.
Franco, 25, faced a second trial after he received a two-year suspended sentence when he was convicted in June 2025. That earlier conviction centered on an intimate relationship with the same 14-year-old girl, when Franco was 21.
The girl’s mother—whose actions became part of the legal fight—was convicted of trafficking her daughter and received a 10-year prison sentence that was overturned on appeal. Prosecutors alleged that Franco had paid off the mother.
When the case returned. the mother was convicted of trafficking her daughter again. and again received a 10-year sentence. the reporting said. Although the court issued a judicial pardon to Franco, he was still convicted of a crime of moral turpitude. That finding, as reported, would prevent Franco from obtaining a visa to work in the USA.
Major League Baseball is aware of the verdict but refused comment. The full decision will be issued June 16. Franco remains on MLB’s restricted list for failure to report.
In the courtroom battle that got to this point, both sides appealed the first trial’s outcome. The state sought a five-year prison sentence in the second trial, while Franco sought to have the conviction overturned. For Franco, that appeal was framed as his likely only hope to continue a major league career.
The money and momentum of his career have been tightly bound to the legal timeline. Franco was in the second year of an 11-year. $182 million contract in 2023 when posts emerged on social media of Franco and the 14-year-old girl. His conviction meant the Rays have not had to pay Franco in the years since. and that arrangement is likely to continue.
Franco was named to the American League All-Star team in 2023. By the time he was placed on the restricted list that August, he had accumulated 5.4 WAR, and he played his last game on Aug. 12.
The sequence of rulings—suspended time for Franco in June 2025. a later second trial. and now a guilty verdict without prison—creates an unusually stark split between courtroom accountability and immediate removal from the game’s financial and operational reality. MLB may still be deciding how to handle what happens next. but the contract clock already appears to have been forced into a long pause.
For now, June 16 will bring the full decision. Until then. Franco’s restricted status and the visa barrier tied to his moral turpitude conviction keep the focus on consequences that go beyond the question of jail time—extending into travel. eligibility. and what the next chapter can realistically look like.
Wander Franco Dominican Republic court verdict sexual abuse conviction MLB restricted list Tampa Bay Rays visa moral turpitude 11-year $182 million contract June 16 decision Enrique Hernandez players rest matters