Mugshot For Former MLB Pitcher Busted In Underage Sex Sting Released
By Jason Hall
May 21, 2024
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox's gruesome mugshot was released in relation a recent child sex solicitation sting in Jacksonville, Florida.
Maddox, 33, had visible swelling and marks on his face after being tackled by police, which was shown in a video previously released by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. The former pitcher was charged with four felony counts, including traveling to meet after using a computer to solicit a child, and is being held in jail on a $300,000 bond, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced during a news conference on Monday (May 20).
"Austin Maddox, a former Red Sox MLB player, traveled with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old child," Waters announced during the news conference.
Maddox was among 27 suspects arrested in relation to the department's five-day operation "Valiant Knights" a "child predator operation" launched late last month targeting individuals who allegedly solicited sex over the internet from people who they believed to be children, according to an arrest report obtained by WBZ News.
Maddox allegedly started communicating with an undercover agent posing as an underage girl on April 28, according to the arrest report. The former pitcher expressed his intention to have sex with the girl despite being told that she was 14 during their conversations.
Maddox agreed to meet the girl at a designated location, at which point he was arrested by law enforcement officers. The 33-year-old was seen being tackled by an officer during his arrest in a video shared by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
CHILD PREDATOR OPERATION: 27 men thought they were chatting online with underage girls. Instead, they were talking to our detectives. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, along with our local, state, and federal partners with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, arrested the suspects during the 5-day Operation Valiant Knights. These men face a long list of felonies including solicitation of a child and human trafficking. JSO and our partners go to great lengths to keep children safe, and we will continue to conduct operations like this. To watch the full briefing conducted by Sheriff T.K. Waters , go to https://youtube.com/live/Zu8Gaxpphkc #JSO #ChildPredatorSting #HumanTrafficking
Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Monday, May 20, 2024
"Maddox resisted arrest, until our K-9 got involved," the video states.
Maddox was selected by the Red Sox in the third-round of the 2012 MLB Draft and recorded a 0.52 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13 appearances and 17.1 innings pitched as a reliever in 2017, having previously spent six years in the franchise's minor league system. The Jacksonville native suffered shoulder inflammation during spring training the following year before multiple injuries led to his retirement from professional baseball in 2020.