JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former major league player Austin Maddox, who briefly pitched for the Boston Red Sox in 2017, has been arrested in Florida in what authorities are calling a “child-predation operation.”
Maddox was one of 27 people arrested late last month as part of a multi-agency investigation, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said. They are accused of soliciting sexual acts from people they believed to be children over the Internet, officials said.
“Former Red Sox MLB player Austin Maddox traveled with a 14-year-old child for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity,” Waters said at a press conference Monday.
Accusations against Austin Maddox
According to an arrest report, Maddox, 33, began communicating with an undercover officer posing as an underage girl on April 28. Officials said he continued to express a desire to engage in sexual activity with the girl, even after she told them she was 14 years old.
Authorities said Maddox agreed to meet the girl at a pre-arranged location, where he was arrested by law enforcement officers.
Video released by the sheriff’s office showed officers wrestling Maddox to the ground.
“Maddox resisted arrest until our preschool got involved,” the video states.
He is charged with four felonies, including using a computer to solicit and then meet a child. He is being held in jail on $300,000 bail. His attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Austin Maddox’s Red Sox career
Maddox played college ball at 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 playing several years in the minors. He appeared in 13 games with Boston in 2017, pitching 17 innings, according to Baseball Reference.
He spent about three months on the Red Sox roster before returning to the minors to recover from a shoulder injury. He was released by the team in 2019.
