logo
Wander Franco's attorney to ask court to exonerate his client in sexual abuse case

Wander Franco's attorney to ask court to exonerate his client in sexual abuse case

PUERTO LA PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The attorney for Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco said Monday he will ask the court to exonerate his client of all charges in a sexual abuse case involving a girl who was 14 years old at the time of the alleged crimes.
Franco, who was charged in July 2024 and is on supervised release, could face up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.
'He didn't commit the acts he's accused of,' Teodosio Jáquez told The Associated Press at the end of the fourth hearing at the Collegiate Court of Puerto Plata, a tourist city in northern Dominican Republic where the girl is from.
'They're playing their part, because their job is to accuse. However, what they have to do is prove it,' Jáquez said of the witnesses presented by prosecutors.
The prosecutors say the witnesses' testimony has been vital in proving that Franco sexually abused a minor and paid her mother money for her consent.
'Today, each of these expert witnesses' statements was vital. They established not only the fact of child sexual abuse, but also that they reinforced commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering,' prosecutor Claudio Cordero said.
Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge last year and were viewed by The Associated Press alleged that Franco, through his mother Yudelka Aybar, transferred 1 million pesos ($17,000) to the mother of the minor on Jan. 5, 2023, to consent to the purported abuse.
The mother of the minor has been charged with money laundering and is under house arrest.
Franco also has been charged with sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.
Also, on Sunday he was charged with illegal possession of a handgun, prosecutors said.
Franco was arrested Nov. 10 in San Juan de la Maguana after an altercation in a parking lot. No one was injured during the fight, and the handgun, a semiautomatic Glock 19, was found in Franco's vehicle, according to a statement from the Dominican Public Prosecutor's Office.
Franco's attorney says the player did not have the weapon, that it belongs to someone else.
'This is a celebrity, and some media outlets are perverse in trying to harm that young man,' Jáquez added.
Franco, who turned 24 on March 1, was in his third major league season when his career was halted in August 2023. He agreed to an 11-year, $182 million contract in November 2021. He is currently on Major League Baseball's restricted list after initially being placed on administrative leave.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Whistleblower's death casts pall on Southern Baptist meeting and stalled sex abuse reforms
Whistleblower's death casts pall on Southern Baptist meeting and stalled sex abuse reforms

Associated Press

time4 hours ago

  • Associated Press

Whistleblower's death casts pall on Southern Baptist meeting and stalled sex abuse reforms

DALLAS (AP) — More than 10,000 church representatives are gathered in Dallas for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, which began Tuesday morning with praise sessions and optimistic reports about growing numbers of baptisms. But casting a pall over the gathering is the recent death of one of the most high-profile whistleblowers in the Southern Baptists' scandal of sexual abuse. Jennifer Lyell, a onetime denominational publishing executive who went public in 2019 with allegations that she had been sexually abused by a seminary professor while a student, died Saturday at 47. She 'suffered catastrophic strokes,' a friend and fellow advocate, Rachael Denhollander, posted Sunday on X. Friends reported that the backlash Lyell received after going public with her report took a devastating toll on her. Several abuse survivors and advocates for reform, who previously had a prominent presence in recent SBC meetings, are skipping this year's gathering, citing lack of progress by the convention. Two people sought to fill that void, standing vigil outside of the meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas as attendees walked by. The pair held up signs with photos of Lyell and of Gareld Duane Rollins, who died earlier this spring and who was among those who accused longtime SBC power broker Paul Pressler of sexual abuse. 'It's not a healthy thing for them (survivors) to be here,' said Johnna Harris, host of a podcast on abuse in evangelical ministries. 'I felt like it was important for someone to show up. I want people to know there are people who care.' Past attempts at reforms in the SBC The SBC Executive Committee, in a 2022 apology, acknowledged 'its failure to adequately listen, protect, and care for Jennifer Lyell when she came forward to share her story.' It also acknowledged the denomination's official news agency had not accurately reported the situation as 'sexual abuse by a trusted minister in a position of power at a Southern Baptist seminary.' SBC officials issued statements this week lamenting Lyell's death, but her fellow advocates have denounced what they say is a failure to implement reforms. The SBC's 2022 meeting voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. That came shortly after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant, which said Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years. But the denomination's Executive Committee president, Jeff Iorg, said earlier this year that creating a database is not a focus and that the committee instead plans to refer churches to existing databases of sex offenders and focus on education about abuse prevention. The committee administers the denomination's day-to-day business. Advocates for reform don't see those approaches as adequate. It is the latest instance of 'officials trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of reform,' abuse survivor and longtime advocate Christa Brown wrote on Baptist News Global, which is not SBC-affiliated. In a related action, the Executive Committee will also be seeking $3 million in convention funding for ongoing legal expenses related to abuse cases. What is on the agenda? As of Tuesday afternoon, attendance was at 10,456 church representatives (known as messengers). That is less than a quarter of the total that thronged the SBC's annual meeting 40 years ago this month in a Dallas showdown that marked the height of battles over control of the convention, ultimately won by the more conservative-fundamentalist side led by Pressler and his allies. That conservative consensus remains in the convention. This year's convention will be asked to approve resolutions lamenting 'willful childlessness' and calling for bans on same-sex marriage and pornography and restrictions on sports betting. Messengers will also debate whether to institute a constitutional ban on churches with women pastors and to abolish its public-policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — which is staunchly conservative, but according to critics, not enough so. Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, said Tuesday he would address the 'turbulence' during his scheduled remarks Wednesday but was confident in the messengers' support. 'I think the majority of Southern Baptists are going to say once again, like they always have, 'We need an entity that is dedicated to taking a distinctively Baptist voice and speaking in the public square,' ' Leatherwood said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Aurora, Illinois chiropractor faces more sexual abuse counts
Aurora, Illinois chiropractor faces more sexual abuse counts

CBS News

time5 hours ago

  • CBS News

Aurora, Illinois chiropractor faces more sexual abuse counts

An Aurora, Illinois chiropractor is facing even more felony charges in a growing sexual abuse case. Murtaza Hameed, 46, of Naperville, appeared in DuPage County Court on Tuesday on the additional charges. He was indicted by a grand jury on Thursday, May 29, 13 new counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, attempted criminal sexual assault, and misdemeanor battery. The new charges involved three more alleged victims bringing the total to five. On May 12, Hameed appeared in DuPage County First Appearance Court, a judge agreed to a prosecutors' motion to deny him early release. At his court appearance Tuesday, Judge Brian Telander granted Hameed pretrial release over prosecutors' objection, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office. Hameed was released on electronic monitoring with home confinement, and is not allowed to have contact with any minors other than his own children, prosecutors said. The DuPage County State's Attorney's office on Jan. 11, a 17-year-old boy was receiving chiropractic treatment at Hameed's office in the 3800 block of McCoy Drive in Aurora, when Hameed sexually abused him. The boy told his father what had happened when he got home from the appointment, and the boy's father called Aurora police right away, prosecutors said. Aurora police in turn called the DuPage County Children's center, and authorities learned a 16-year-old boy also claimed he had been sexually abused by Hameed in 2016, prosecutors said. Since Hameed was arrested, three more alleged victims have come forward, prosecutors said. These victims claimed the abuse happened between July 2016 and January of this year, and the age range spans from preadolescent boys to adult men. Aurora police asked that anyone else who may have been a victim of sexual abuse by the chiropractor contact DuPage County Investigator Dirk Ollech at or 630-407-2750, or Aurora police Investigator Jennifer Hillgoth at cosentij@ or 630-256-5554.

Ex-Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn files motion to dismiss federal charge in underage prostitution sting
Ex-Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn files motion to dismiss federal charge in underage prostitution sting

CBS News

time8 hours ago

  • CBS News

Ex-Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn files motion to dismiss federal charge in underage prostitution sting

Former Minnesota State Sen. Justin Eichorn has filed a motion to dismiss a federal charge stemming from an arrest in an underage prostitution sting earlier this year, with his legal team arguing he is being targeted by "selective prosecution." Justin Eichorn, a Republican who represented a district in St. Louis County before his resignation in March, faces a federal charge of attempted coercion or enticement of a minor. In March, he was arrested as part of an online prostitution sting. In newly filed court documents, Eichorn's legal team argues that the indictment "should be dismissed because the Government's decision to charge Mr. Eichorn in the present indictment was vindictively motivated by personal animus against Mr. Eichorn." EIchorn's lawyers added, as Eichorn was a public office holder, they believe the indictment to be "vindictive in that it was motivated solely by the fact that the government is unable to secure a more significant period of incarceration for Mr. Eichorn in the initial prosecution by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office." Documents allege he "intentionally hired or offered or agreed to hire an individual who [he] believes to be under the age of 18 years, but at least 16 years of age, to engage in sexual penetration or sexual contact." The complaint says he was communicating with undercover officers, who said they began receiving messages from Eichorn and asked for pictures multiple times, including "a naught [sic] pic of you to show me your [sic] real." Eichorn allegedly arranged to meet with the girl in Bloomington, which is where he was arrested. After his arrest, Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of the state legislature called for his resignation. Eichorn's former district is now being represented by Republican Sen. Keri Heintzeman following her special election win. contributed to this report.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store