Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco had an additional charge of human trafficking added Wednesday to his list of alleged crimes in the Dominican Republic.
News of the human trafficking charge, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, came less than 24 hours after he was formally charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor, according to reports from ESPN.
ESPN was the first to report the human trafficking charge on Wednesday.
Update: Through a press release, Dominican authorities indicate that in addition to the crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against a minor, #WanderFranco is being accused of human trafficking.
— Juan Arturo Recio (@JuanRecioM) July 10, 2024
This crime has penalties up to 20 years in prison.
The deadline for prosecutors in the Dominican Republic to press charges against Franco was July 5. However, Dominican Republic law allows a judge the power to grant a 10-day extension for the prosecutors and victims to present their conclusions.
Now that Franco has been charged, he is no longer under administrative leave and has been moved back to the restricted list, according to sources at ESPN. As a result, he will not be paid or receive major league service time.
Franco is scheduled to go to trial Aug. 14 and will be tried in a court in the province of Puerto Plata, in the north of the country, where the crimes allegedly occurred.
Franco has been under investigation by both the MLB and Dominican authorities since August 2023 due to social media posts suggesting he had a relationship with a minor.
Shortly after both investigations were launched, Franco agreed to be placed on the MLB's restricted list, removing him from the Rays roster. The former All-Star has not played since.
Franco was then moved to administrative leave by the league under its joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy with the Players' Association. Administrative leave is not disciplinary under the league's policy, and a player continues to be paid.
He remained there through the end of the season and, after the offseason concluded, resumed leave on Opening Day as part of an agreement through June 1.
On May 31, his administrative leave was extended through July 14 by the MLB and the Players' Association.
In December of 2023, Franco received a bonus of over $700,000 from the MLB as part of the league's pre-arbitration bonus pool. He continued to receive his $2 million salary as well.
Franco also has a $2 million salary this season as part of an 11-year, $182 million deal he signed in November of 2021. He will not be paid if he is suspended due to the MLB's investigation.
Franco was arrested on Jan. 1 for not showing up for his meeting with his prosecutor, but a Dominican judge ordered his conditional release four days later.
The judge said Wander could leave the Dominican Republic but had to return monthly to meet with authorities.
Also, in January, a judge ruled that Franco would be facing a lesser charge of sexual and psychological abuse instead of commercial and sexual exploitation and money laundering, charges that carry up to 30 years, 10 years, and 20 years of prison respectively.
Due to the January ruling, Franco was instead facing a potential sentence of up to five years in prison.
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