Authorities within the Dominican Republic are looking for Wander Franco.
As reported in Listín Diario, the nation’s oldest newspaper nonetheless in circulation, the Santo Domingo Prosecutor’s Office for Children and Adolescents performed two raids in Franco’s hometown of Baní, within the Peravia province, on Tuesday searching for the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, however didn’t discover him. Police autos and officers had been seen at Franco’s residence in addition to his mom’s. The authorities left contact info with Franco’s spouse, neighbors instructed Listín Diario.
On August 13, social media posts alleged that Franco, 22, had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an underage lady. Major League Baseball opened an investigation that night time, and the Rays introduced that they’d mutually agreed he’d go on the restricted listing the next day. Authorities in Peravia opened their very own investigation into the matter. The league positioned him on administrative go away the next week.
By the top of the month, three girls had accused Franco of partaking in relationships with them once they had been nonetheless minors and he was over 18, the age of consent within the nation. Doing so can lead to felony fees.
Though Franco was reinstated to the Rays’ 40-man roster at the start of the offseason, the transaction was purely procedural, and the league’s and authorities’ investigations continued.
“New evidence has been found in the case of Wander Franco that further implicates him in the accusations that have been made against him of alleged relationships with minors,” wrote Hector Gomez, sports activities editor of fashionable DR radio station and digital newspaper Z101 Digital, on X (previously Twitter).
Franco was solely 20 when he made his MLB debut in opposition to the Red Sox on June 22, 2021. He is married and shares two kids together with his spouse.
The Rays, who signed Franco to an historic 11-year, $182 million extension in November 2021, have but to remark.
Source: www.bostonherald.com