Dominican Republic

A handgun registered to his uncle was found in Wander Franco's vehicle after an altercation, say Dominican prosecutors, who filed the charge Sunday.

Documents that prosecutors presented to the judge alleged that Franco, through his mother, transferred 1 million pesos, or $17,000, to the mother of the teenage girl to consent to the purported abuse.

The Tampa Bay shortstop has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking.

Franco was having an All-Star season with Tampa Bay in 2023 before Dominican authorities began investigating allegations he had been in a relationship with a minor and paid her mother for consent.

A spokesperson in the Dominican Republic says the Tampa Bay shortstop was allegedly fighting with another man over a woman's attention.

The CDC did not say how common these deaths are or whether they are more common in the Dominican Republic. It does suggest steps that medical tourists should consider before traveling to get work done.

A judge in the Dominican Republic has ordered the conditional release of Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco. He is still facing allegations that he had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl and gave her mother a car and thousands of dollars in exchange for her consent, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The 22-year-old All-Star player remains in jail for now after being detained on Monday in Puerto Plata, where the alleged act occurred.

Wander Franco appeared before prosecutors Monday while accompanied by two lawyers, days after not showing up for a meeting with a Dominican Republic prosecutor.

Authorities in the shortstop's native Dominican Republic are looking into allegations that the All-Star had a relationship with a minor. He likely won't play again this season.

"We are without power, the whole island is without power," Jenniffer González-Colón, Puerto Rico's resident commissioner, tells NPR.