Former Red Sox Pitcher Austin Maddox Sentenced to Three Years in Underage Sex Sting Case
Maddox pleaded guilty to meeting a minor to do unlawful acts and unlawful use of a communications device; he received credit for time already served and will face sex-offender probation
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox was sentenced to three years in a Florida state prison after pleading guilty to charges tied to an underage sex sting, a judge ordered Thursday.
Maddox, 34, pleaded guilty to meeting a minor to do unlawful acts and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed a separate count of soliciting a child via computer. Judge Lindsay Tygart also ordered five years of sex-offender probation to follow Maddox’s release and credited him with 501 days already spent in jail.
Maddox was among 27 people arrested during a multi-agency operation in April 2024 in which law enforcement officers said suspects solicited sex online from people they believed were minors. Authorities said Maddox agreed to meet a girl at a pre-arranged location and was taken into custody at the scene. He had faced up to five years in prison on the charges.
Court records and local officials show Maddox was on probation as a drug offender at the time of his arrest. He had been arrested earlier in November 2022 in Baker County, Florida, according to court filings.
Maddox played college baseball at the University of Florida and was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut in 2017 after several seasons in the minor leagues and appeared in Boston’s organization during the mid-2010s.
The multi-agency operation that led to the April 2024 arrests was part of coordinated efforts by Florida law enforcement to identify adults soliciting minors online. Prosecutors said investigators used online undercover accounts portraying minors to communicate with suspects. Law enforcement agencies involved in the operation announced multiple arrests across the state.
At sentencing, the court imposed the three-year prison term and the subsequent probation period in line with the plea agreement. Maddox’s credit for the 501 days already served will be applied to that sentence, reducing the remaining term he must serve behind bars.