A Dominican court has sentenced the mother of a 14-year-old girl to 10 years in prison for the crime of sexual exploitation of a minor, after she approved a sexual relationship between her daughter and popular baseball player Wander Franco.
In addition to the prison term, the mother was ordered to pay a fine of approximately US $11,050 for the offence, which she denied during court hearings in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
The court also found Wander Franco guilty of abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor and handed him a two-year suspended prison sentence with strict conditions. He is barred from approaching minors for sexual purposes.
“As a condition, for the moment, we will only indicate to Wander, as the regulation states, when the penalty is suspended, conditions must be imposed: that he not approach minors for sexual purposes,” said Judge Jakaira Veras García of the Collegiate Court of the Judicial District of Puerto Plata, flanked by two other judges.
According to the judgment read by Judge Veras García, Franco was subjected to blackmail and coercion by the minor’s mother in an attempt to extort money from him. Franco’s defense team had sought his acquittal from the start of the trial.
The prosecutor’s indictment revealed that the mother was also found guilty of money laundering and illicit enrichment linked to the exploitation, resulting in the stiffer prison term.
Upon leaving the courtroom, Franco’s lawyer said they would await the written judgment and planned to appeal the ruling. The baseball player, who broke down in tears upon hearing the sentence, declined to speak to the press.
Luis Martinez of the Dominican Attorney General’s Office also declined to comment on Franco’s conviction.
This report first appeared on CNN.
