SANTO DOMINGO.- The Dominican prosecutor’s office requested on Tuesday a sentence of five years in prison for Wander Francobaseball player Tampa Bay Rays of the Major Leaguessentenced in the first instance to two years of suspended prison for sexual abuse against a teenager.
Franco, a 24-year-old shortstop, was sentenced in June, when the court decided to suspend the sentence with the condition that he not approach “minors for sexual purposes.”
Magistrate Jakayra Veras, who handled the case, then said that the court considered “the defendant’s youth, his status as a primary offender and the damage he has already suffered in his budding career.”
Now, the prosecution requested a review of the sentence and a five-year prison sentence for the crime of sexual abuse against the teenager who was 14 years old at the time. The court will rule on December 9 of this year.
Franco had also been sentenced to pay a fine equivalent to 10 minimum wages, about $1,700.
The Public Ministry also asked to partially reject the appeal presented by the teenager’s mother, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering.
In September, the baseball player was hospitalized in a private medical center in Santo Domingo after suffering a mental health crisis.
His last game in the North American Major Leagues was on August 12, 2023.
They describe Neymar as a “misunderstood genius”
This Tuesday, Neymar received the support of one of the Santos managers, who described him as a “misunderstood genius” in the midst of the team’s crisis, sunk in the relegation zone.
Limited by recurring injuries, the 33-year-old star has only been able to play in 15 of the 32 games played by Santos in the tournament, while he is the target of criticism.
“Geniuses are misunderstood, it was always like that,” wrote the club’s football director, Alexandre Mattos, in a message on Instagram addressed to Neymar.
“They try to defeat you, they can’t; they try to knock you down, you get up,” he added. “You will never be alone… Rest assured that I am here,” he added.
