SANTO DOMINGO. — The Collegiate Court of the Judicial District of Puerto Plata postponed this Friday the opening of the new trial against former Major League Baseball player
Wander Franco, accused of psychological and sexual abuse against a teenager.
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The hearing was rescheduled for March 30th and 31st and April 1st, after several witnesses for one of the defendants failed to appear at the trial because they had not been formally summoned.
Reopening of the process
The reopening of the trial was ordered in December by the Court of Appeal of the Criminal Chamber of the same judicial department, after accepting an appeal filed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against the sentence issued on June 27, 2025.
The appellate court ruled that the case should be heard again from the trial stage, so that new judges can assess the evidence and issue a decision in accordance with the law.
Initially, Franco Aybar was sentenced to two years in prison under suspension of the sentence, in addition to the payment of 10 minimum wages and court costs. He was found guilty of violating provisions of article 396, letters b and c, of the Code for the Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents (Law 136-03).
As part of the imposed conditions, the court ordered that the defendant not approach teenagers for sexual purposes and warned that, in case of non-compliance, he must serve the sentence in the San Felipe Correction and Rehabilitation Center, in Puerto Plata.
Situation of the victim’s mother
The new trial also involves the minor’s mother, who in the original sentence was sentenced to 10 years in prison for commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering. The woman is serving her sentence at the Rafey Women’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Santiago.
In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered the payment of a fine equivalent to 30 minimum wages and the seizure of various assets seized during the investigation, including a plot of land in Villa Montellano, a 2023 vehicle, bank deposits and sums of money in pesos and dollars, as well as electronic devices and funds held in bank accounts.
With the postponement, the judicial process is once again put on hold until the end of March, when the court is expected to resume knowledge of the case from scratch, in accordance with the provisions of the Court of Appeals.
The hearing was rescheduled for March 30th and 31st and April 1st, after several witnesses for one of the defendants failed to appear at the trial because they had not been formally summoned.
