Dominican appeals court revokes Wander Franco's pardon, upholds sex abuse conviction and imposes suspended sentence

A Dominican appeals court on Thursday, Oct. 29, revoked the judicial pardon that had spared Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco any punishment in his sexual abuse case, upheld his conviction and imposed a three-year prison sentence that is suspended. Franco, 25, will not have to serve time in custody as long as he keeps a fixed residence and remains under judicial supervision, according to the Associated Press.

The ruling by the Court of Appeals in Puerto Plata is the latest turn in a case that has kept one of baseball's brightest young players off the field since August 2023 and left the Rays with an unresolved $182 million contract. Franco can still challenge the decision before the Dominican Republic's Supreme Court of Justice.

What the appeals court decided

Prosecutors asked the appeals court to throw out the judicial pardon Franco received at his retrial in May, arguing that the lower court had misapplied legal provisions intended only for exceptional circumstances, the AP reported. Franco's defense opposed the motion.

The court agreed with prosecutors on the pardon. According to the AP, it ruled that Franco's case did not meet the "extraordinary" circumstances a judicial pardon requires, affirmed his conviction for sexual and psychological abuse of a minor, and sentenced him to three years in prison, suspended. Some reports said the judges did not grant prosecutors' request for a five-year sentence.

The court said it set the conditional terms in light of Franco's age and to support his eventual reintegration into society. If he violates any of the conditions, he will be required to serve the full three-year sentence, the AP reported.

Local coverage has described the outcome in two ways that refer to the same ruling. WFLA, carrying the AP report, said the court revoked Franco's pardon. Bay News 9, citing the Tampa Bay Times, said Franco lost his appeal, with his guilty verdict upheld and a three-year suspended sentence added, which it compared to probation. In practical terms, the pardon is gone, the conviction stands and Franco now carries a suspended prison sentence.

The mother's sentence

The court also upheld a 10-year prison sentence for the girl's mother, who was convicted of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering, and ordered the forfeiture of about $34,000 found in her possession, according to the AP. The AP described the money as funds Franco provided in exchange for her consent to his relationship with her daughter. The Florida Press is not naming the mother, to avoid identifying the victim, who was a minor.

How the case got here

The case has moved through several distinct stages over more than three years:

Franco was accused of a four-month relationship with a girl who was 14 at the time that began in December 2022, when he was 21, and of transferring thousands of dollars to her mother so she would consent, according to MLB.com and the AP. Social media posts alleging the relationship surfaced on Aug. 13, 2023, a day after his last game.

At the first trial in June 2025, a three-judge panel found him guilty of sexually abusing a minor and acquitted him of charges of sexual and commercial exploitation of a minor and human trafficking, Bay News 9 reported. Both sides appealed, and in December 2025 an appeals court ordered the case retried.

At the retrial, a three-judge panel again found Franco criminally responsible but issued a judicial pardon, declaring that he was also a "material victim, but not a legal one" in the case, according to the AP as reported by MLB.com. Bay News 9 reported that judges had concluded he was being blackmailed by the girl's mother, which is why he was not sent to prison. Thursday's ruling removed that pardon.

The Rays and MLB

Franco remains on MLB's restricted list, which means he is not paid and does not accrue major league service time. The Rays moved him there after he was formally charged and did not report to the team, ending the pay he had received while on administrative leave, according to MLB.com.

MLB declined to comment on Thursday's ruling, according to the AP, and Franco and his attorneys did not comment. The league has had an open investigation under its Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, which allows it to impose discipline independent of the courts. After the May retrial verdict, MLB said it was aware of the ruling and would "conclude our investigation at the appropriate time."

The Rays said in May that they respected the legal process, called the case a serious matter and said they would continue to cooperate with MLB's review. The team has not commented publicly on the appeals ruling.

What it means for Franco's career

Franco signed his 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021, when he was 20. He has not played in the majors since August 2023, and immigration experts have said a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude, short of full exoneration, would make it nearly impossible for him to obtain a U.S. work visa, according to reporting cited by MLB.com.

With the pardon revoked and the conviction affirmed on appeal, that hurdle remains in place. Yahoo Sports noted that the result should make a visa prohibitive and effectively end his career with the Rays, unless the Supreme Court of Justice rules differently.

For Tampa Bay, the restricted-list status means the club is not paying Franco, but the contract has not been terminated, and any final resolution is likely to wait for MLB's investigation and the end of the court process.

What's next

Franco's remaining option in the Dominican courts is an appeal to the Supreme Court of Justice. MLB has not said when it will complete its review. Until then, Franco stays on the restricted list, under a suspended sentence in the Dominican Republic, more than three years after his last game at Tropicana Field.