Verdict in Wander Franco trial to come Thursday on reduced charges

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Jun 23, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — A verdict in the trial of Rays shortstop Wander Franco will be announced Thursday, the presiding judge said following closing arguments Monday in the Dominican Republic.

Franco originally had been charged with sexual abuse, sexual exploitation of a minor and human trafficking and faced the possibility of up to 30 years in prison.

But during Monday’s session, prosecutors indicated they are only pursuing the sexual abuse charge and asked for a five-year prison sentence.

According to ESPN’s Juan Arturo Recio, closing arguments got heated “during the stages of reply and counter-reply between the parties, where the prosecutors pointed out that the defense did not present evidence that contradicted theirs or their theory of the case and the defenses pointed out that the MP (Public Ministry) did not prove the existence of the crimes for which it is pursuing the defendants.”

After hearing from both sides, the presiding judge, per Recio, said the case was complex, “taking into account the volume of evidence and the allegations,” and the three-judge panel would begin deliberations with an announcement to come Thursday afternoon.

Franco was allowed to address the court Monday morning but chose to speak only briefly, saying, “Let justice be done.”

Franco, 24, has not played for the Rays since word of the relationship surfaced on social media in August 2023, a month after he made his first All-Star appearance.

Prosecutors filed charges against Franco in July 2024. The evidence, which included direct testimony from the girl in a private session, was then reviewed by a judge, who ruled in September that it merited proceeding to a trial. Franco was 21 at the time of the relationship, which started in December 2022, and the girl was 14.

Franco has been on Major League Baseball’s restricted list, and not paid, since charges were filed. In the balance of the verdict could be his career, as well as the remaining $164 million of the $182 million, 11-year contract he signed in November 2021.

Franco also faces charges in the Dominican Republic for illegal possession of a firearm stemming from an unrelated incident in November 2024. Potential jail terms range from six months to five years. A trial date for those charges has not yet been set.

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