A new trial for Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco was ordered by an appeals court in his native Dominican Republic on Tuesday (December 9), the Associated Press reports.

The ruling follows Franco's attorneys pushing to have his June conviction for sexually abusing a minor and two-year sentencing overturned, while prosecutors have sought an extended five-year sentence. The appeals court ruled in favor of the Rays shortstop and ordered a new panel of judges to oversee his case.

“The court understood that there were many flaws, many omissions...many issues, and decided to send the case to a new trial,” said Teodosio Jáquez , Franco’s attorney, via the Associated Press .

Prosecutor José Martinez Montan , the district attorney for Puerto Plata, the province where the cas

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