Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox was one of 27 men arrested in a sting operation targeting sexual predators, Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters announced Monday. The sheriff said Maddox and other suspects were arrested in the "Valiant Knights" operation last month after arranging to meet people they thought were minors for sex, WJXT reports. "Undercover detectives posing as children, chatted online with these adults," the sheriff said. "These adults solicited sexual activity and committed to engaging in sex acts with purported minors and pre-arranged locations."
Maddox, a 33-year-old Jacksonville resident, faces four felony charges including solicitation of a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct, Boston25 reports. According to an arrest report, he chatted online to somebody he thought was a 14-year-old girl and expressed a desire to "commit lewd acts." According to the arrest report, when he learned the girl's age, he told her: "That's young, baby. I get in trouble for that. You can't even drive. You gonna stay with me all night?" The sheriff's office said Maddox "resisted arrest until our K9 got involved" and suffered injuries while being taken into custody.
The sheriff's office released video of Maddox being arrested by officers who had been lying in wait. Maddox, who spent most of his career in the minor leagues, played 17 games with the Red Sox in the 2017 season. The AP reports that he is being held on a $300,000 bond. Defense attorney Jamie Hill says he plans to fight the allegations and will plead not guilty. (More sting operations stories.)
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