Rays SS Franco charged with sexual abuse against a minor

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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor in the Dominican Republic.

The Puerto Plata District Office Prosecutor Kelmin Duncan and the spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office Nairobi Viloria confirmed to ESPN's Juan Recio they presented the formal accusation against Franco on Tuesday.

Franco has been under investigation since mid-2023, when a complaint was filed against him for allegedly having held sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl.

Franco was initially accused by Dominican prosecutors of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering on Jan. 3; the mother of the girl, who…