Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox pleaded guilty to charges related to an underage sex sting on Thursday.
Maddox, 34, was accused of soliciting sex from people he believed to be minors after being arrested in a mass sting operation in late April 2024.
The former MLB player was sentenced to three years in prison with 501 days already served, followed by five years of sex offender probation and multiple other conditions by a Florida judge on Thursday after agreeing to a plea deal.
He pleaded guilty to charges of traveling to meet a minor to do unlawful acts and unlawful use of a two-way communications device, according to jacksonville.com. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped a charge of soliciting a child via computer.
A previous charge of producing/promoting performance which includes sexual performance by a child younger than 18 had already been dropped in May 2024.
Maddox was one of 27 people who were arrested as part of a multi-agency operation orchestrated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to target men who were sexually preying on minors.
Ex-MLB pitcher Austin Maddox pleaded guilty to charges related to an underage sex sting
Maddox, 34, was accused of soliciting sex from people he believed to be minors
The former Boston Red Sox player was one of 27 people arrested as part of a multi-agency operation in April 2024
Shocking footage released by the Sheriff’s Office following arrest showed the moment the former baseball player was ambushed by cops, who were waiting to arrest him.
In the video, the former baseball player is seen resisting arrest until the police K9 got involved.
He is seen on video getting tackled by at least six officers and a police dog as he walked into his home – where the cops were hiding.
Maddox ‘expressed a desire to commit lewd acts,’ Investigators said. He began communicating with an undercover agent pretending to be an underage girl on April 28, an arrest report said.
He expressed his intent to have sex with the girl even after she told him that she was 14, officials said.
When he found out the girl was 14-year-old, he allegedly said, ‘That’s young, baby. I get in trouble for that. You can’t even drive. You gonna stay with me all night?’
He is seen on video getting tackled by at least six officers and a police dog
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a video revealing their child predator operation. In the video, Maddox is seen resisting arrest until the police k9 got involved
Maddox, who is unmarried, played in 13 games for the Red Sox during the 2017 season
Maddox agreed to meet the girl at a pre-arranged location, where he was arrested by law enforcement officers, authorities said.
The right-hander played college ball for the University of Florida and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2012. He made his major league debut with the team in 2017 after several years in the minors.
Maddox, who is unmarried, played in 13 games for the Red Sox during the 2017 season.
He spent about three months on the Red Sox roster before heading back to the minors to recover from shoulder injuries. He was released from the team in 2019.
