DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

Jakaira Veras García, of the Collegiate Court of the Judicial District of Puerto Plata, and fellow judges Venecia Rojas and José Juan Jiménez, issued their verdict on the high-profile case of MLB leading slugger Wander Franco accused of child sexual abuse.

The Puerto Plata court found Wander Franco, the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, guilty of sexual abuse and exploitation of a minor in the Dominican Republic. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but the sentence was suspended on the condition that he must not approach or have contact with minors for sexual purposes. Franco was fined approximately US$3,650.

The court recognized that Franco had been pressured and blackmailed by the minor’s mother, who sought financial gain.

Meanwhile, the mother of the minor, Martha Vanessa Chevalier, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined around US$11,050 for her role in the sexual...