SADLY:MLB player Wander Franco is detained in the Dominican Republic on suspicion of having a child.

CNN —
The Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was taken into custody on Monday in Puerto Plata, in the country’s north, after he appeared before authorities to respond to charges from the Public Ministry for alleged relationships with minors.

Franco, a native of the Dominican Republic, faced the charges, which surfaced in August 2023, on Monday when he appeared before the Comprehensive Care Unit for Victims of Gender, Domestic Violence, and Sexual Crimes.

The baseball player was taken into custody following an almost three-hour interrogation when he showed up at the prosecutor’s office at around 11 a.m. with his new attorneys Teodocio Jáquez and Francisco Rodríguez.

Judge Luisa Marmolejos, the head of the unit at the Puerto Plata province justice department, met Franco. When CNN reached her, she declined to comment on the issue. The attorneys for Franco declined to comment on the matter.

Only in August did Franco respond to this case, appearing to refute the charges and state that he was concentrating on bettering himself in an Instagram video.

The Dominican Public Ministry has 48 hours from the time of the arrest to give the judge evidence and petitions pertaining to Franco. Coercive measures, such as holding him in jail, can be petitioned for. Thus, after 48 hours, they must determine whether to keep him in jail.

After firing his previous attorneys, Franco disregarded a summons to appear before the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Children and Adolescents on December 28, just hours before his appointment.

Since the accusations surfaced in the Dominican media on August 14, 2023, Franco has been placed on administrative leave by the major league teams.