Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who’s currently on trial on charges including sexual abuse of a minor, was charged Sunday with illegal possession of a handgun, prosecutors said.
Franco was arrested Nov. 10 in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in a parking lot. No one was injured during the fight, and the handgun, a semiautomatic Glock 19, was found in Franco’s vehicle, according to a statement from the Dominican Public Prosecutor’s Office.
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WATCH HEREThe handgun was registered in the name of Franco’s uncle, prosecutors said in the statement. After the arrest, Antonio Garcia Lorenzo, one of Franco’s lawyers, said that because the gun was licensed, “there’s nothing illegal about it.”
Prosecutors requested that Franco stand trial on the gun charge.
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The 24-year-old Franco’s trial in the sexual abuse case — involving a girl who was 14 years old at the time of his alleged crimes — is ongoing. The charges in that case include sexual abuse of a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.
According to prosecutors, Franco kidnapped the girl for sexual purposes and “sent large sums of money to her mother.”
The teenage girl testified behind closed doors on Thursday. Prosecutors described the evidence presented on Friday as “convincing” and “compelling.”
Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge last year and were viewed by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos or $17,000 to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the purported abuse.
The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.
Prosecutors say that the minor’s mother went from being a bank employee to leading an ostentatious life and acquiring assets that she cannot justify using the funds she received from Franco.
Franco, who is on supervised release, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Franco was playing his third major league season when his career was halted in August 2023 because of the allegations. He agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021. He is currently on Major League Baseball’s restricted list.
