Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is scheduled to go to trial Monday in the Dominican Republic in a sexual abuse case involving a 14-year-old girl.

Now 24, Franco was having an All-Star season in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother thousands of dollars for her consent. The trial was initially scheduled for Dec. 12 but was postponed until June.

Here's what to know about the trial:

What are the charges against Wander Franco?

Franco has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking. After an investigation that lasted over a year, judge Pascual Valenzuela of the northern province of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, ruled

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