Former Red Sox player arrested in sting operation after arranging to meet girl for sex, sheriff says

A former Boston Red Sox pitcher was recently arrested in connection with an undercover child predator case after authorities said he solicited an underage girl for sex and then s He had gone to meet her.

Austin Maddox, 33, of Jacksonville, Florida, is charged with traveling to meet after using a computer to solicit a child, solicitation of a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and producing or promoting performances that include sexual performances by a child, a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report said.

Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said Maddox was arrested as part of “Operation Valiant Knights,” an online sting operation in which 27 men solicited sex over the Internet from people they “They thought they were children,” Boston 25’s sister station Action News Jax reported.

Maddox chatted with someone who identified herself as a 14-year-old girl on the website “Skip the Games,” continued the conversation via text message and arranged to meet up for sex, according to the report of arrest.

Investigators say Maddox “expressed a desire to commit lewd acts” and after learning the girl’s age, he allegedly said, “It’s young, baby.” I’m in trouble for that. You can’t even drive. Are you going to stay with me all night?

Maddox was arrested by members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office upon arrival at the arranged meeting location on April 28. Officials noted that Maddox was injured while in custody.

“Former Major League Baseball player Austin Dean Maddox resisted arrest until our K9 got involved,” a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said in a video showing a group of officials of law enforcement hiding and waiting before tackling Maddox to the ground.

Undercover detectives posing as children spoke with the arrested men, including Maddox, “who engaged in engaging in sexual acts with purported minors,” Waters said. He added that the objective of this operation was “to identify and arrest suspects who entice children to engage in sexual acts using electronic devices.”

Maddox appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox during the 2017 season, posting a 0.52 ERA in 17.1 innings of work. He spent most of his career in the minors.

Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, assisted the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in this investigation.

When asked for comment on Maddox’s arrest, a Red Sox spokesperson told Boston 25, “I have nothing to tell you about that.” »

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