Wander Franco Case Update: Rays shortstop to be present in court for alleged victims' interview by Dominican Republic judge

Wander Franco is slated to appear in court next week when the judge speaks with his alleged victims. On February 8, the embattled shortstop will return to court as his alleged victim will be interviewed by the court. Once the interview is concluded, the judge can decide what fate Franco will face next.

Wander Franco stands accused of physical and sexual abuse as well as commercial sexual exploitation of a minor. The prosecutors allege, with testimony from the girl, and testimony from other members of her family, that Franco also paid the girl’s mother thousands of dollars for the mother's agreement for Franco to have a sexual relationship with her daughter.

The Code for the Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents in the Dominican Republic states that any sexual relationship between a minor and a person five years their senior is abusive. The relationship in question had a seven-year age gap, with the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop being 21 and his alleged victim being 14 at the time.

Upon completion of the interviews, the judge presiding over the case will rule if Franco will see trial, which could take a lot of time to come to fruition.

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Wander Franco unlikely to return to baseball any time soon

What happens with the case will likely determine if Wander Franco has any shot of playing in Major League Baseball again. If he's guilty, it's highly unlikely that he plays again. If he's not guilty, there will still be a lot of baggage that will give teams pause.

Wander Franco isn't likely to return any time soon

With Spring Training coming up, he posted videos of himself taking batting practice, but he can't even return to the United State, let alone play with the Rays, until this legal situation is resolved.

As mentioned, that could take into the summer, so it's not like Franco will be able to play any time soon if there's a future for him in this sport at all. It's all up in the air now, but it doesn't look likely for the former American League All-Star.