Former Red Sox Player Austin Maddox Among 27 Men Detained in Child Predator Sting Operation, Arrest Caught on Camera

Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox was arrested last month as part of a sting operation focused on 27 men accused of using the internet to lure minors for sex.

According to WFLA, Maddox, 33, is accused of traveling "with the intent of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old child." He faces a slew of charges, including solicitation of a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct and unlawful use of two-way communication device.

Maddox's attorney James Hill tells the Associated Press that his client plans on pleading not guilty if he's formally charged. He is currently being held in jail on a $300,000 bond.

Maddox was selected by the Red Sox in the third round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut in 2017 and appeared in 13 games. The pitcher retired from professional baseball in 2020.

According to News4Jax, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced in a press conference on Monday that Maddox was among 24 men detained through "Operation Valiant Knights," which was carried out from April 24 to April 28.

"Undercover detectives posing as children, chatted online with these adults," Waters said. "These adults solicited sexual activity and committed to engaging in sex acts with purported minors and pre-arranged location."

A follow-up investigation led to the arrest of three additional men.

The ages of the men taken into custody range from 19 to 69 years old. Among those arrested was Chad Sadlowski, a respiratory therapist at Mayo Clinic, who was apparently in his medical work clothes when authorities swarmed him.