Apr 13, 2023; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (5) takes the field for warm ups before a game against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
MLB: Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was released Monday from a jail in the Dominican Republic amid an investigation that he had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl.
The 22-year-old paid 2 million Dominican pesos ($34,000) to be released, according to the New York Post.
Franco has been accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering after he allegedly had a four-month relationship with a minor with the consent of her 35-year-old mother, who allegedly received $1,700 monthly payments over the course of seven months and a new car “in order to allow the relationship and let her go out with him wherever she wanted.”
Franco did not speak to reporters who crowded around him after his release. He was arrested last week after missing a meeting with the prosecutor investigating the case.
The minor is quoted in court documents claiming she grew “tired” of her mother allegedly pocketing all the money she received from Franco and wanted a local digital media site to publish a story about her relationship with the Rays star. Franco responded in a video a few days later, calling the situation an extortion attempt.
‘Since I was little, my mother has seen me as a way for her to benefit from both the partners she has had and my partners and it is something that I really dislike,’ the minor said, according to a court document obtained by Dominican news outlet Noticias Sin.
The underage girl has not been named for legal reasons.
Franco hasn’t been charged with any crimes and has previously denied any wrongdoing. The Rays placed him on the restricted list in August while Major League Baseball conducts its own investigation.
