While the Epstein List, has the Americans in a chokehold, the MLB community faces the same issue as Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays gets arrested for a case of a similar nature.
The Epstein Lis is a record of the people the billionaire businessman and convicted pedophile allegedly interacted with. The list may contain people who visited the businessman's Epstein Island described as a haven for trafficking young women.
For Franco's case, he did not traffic young women nor jailed them but he is accused of having a sexual relationship with underage girls in his home country the Dominican Republic.
There are a total of three complaints against the 22-year-old, with the latest one at the center of recent investigations found out to be just 14 years old when they had a relationship last year.
The latest on Wander Franco's case
On December 26, the authorities, through the lead of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Children and Adolescents, raided the Rays shortstop's two homes only to find out that he was not there.
He was instead summoned by the Special Prosecutor's Office to appear for questioning.
Franco was arrested on Monday after failing to appear from a court summon last week and is now accused of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering.
The prosecution asked the court to prevent Franco from flying out and be put under house arrest. They also want the MLB rising star to pay $86,000 in bond.
He is currently detained and will be tried at a courtroom in Puerto Plata, a province northeast of the capital Santo Domingo.
Child abuse before, now money laundering
The cases against Franco ramp up as aside from sexual relationships with underage girls (18 is the age of consent in the Dominican Republic), he is now being accused of blackmailing the mother of a 14-year-old victim.
Local newspaper Deportivo Grupo SIN reported that Franco and the mother of the 14-year-old have been in communication and the player may have been making hush money payments to her.
The victim's mom's house was raided and police found $68,000 in bills, and a vehicle allegedly paid for by the MLB player according to the report.
For that, the mother is also facing commercial sexual exploitation charges.
Franco's lawyers did not comment on the latest development in the case of their client.
The only time Franco made a denial
Franco, who was projected to become an All-Star in the American baseball league, refuse to comment on the case but in August last year, he denied the accusations thrown at him.
"They say that I'm in public with a little girl, that I'm running around with a minor," he told his viewers in an Instagram live.
"People don't know what to do with their time. They don't know what they're talking about. That's why I prefer to be on my side and not get involved with anybody ... because people gossip and talk smack."
He just signed an 11-year, $182 million extension in 2021 but that will not be fulfilled anymore.
The MLB put him immediately on administrative leave under joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy. The Tampa Bay Rays said it supports the league's decision.
Related article: Wander Franco Contract - What Will Happen To Rays Shortstop's Nine-Figure Deal After Controversy?
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