Austin Maddox, a former pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, last month and entered a not guilty plea to several charges including child rape.
On Tuesday, May 28, Maddox, 33, filed his plea in a Duval County courtroom, as Us Weekly can confirm.
He is charged with four felonies, including luring, enticing, and travelling to meet a kid after using a computer to seek, seduce, or entice a child and requesting a youngster to participate in sexual activity.
As part of Operation Valiant Knights, a five-day FBI sting that resulted in the arrest of 27 men for various child-related sex crimes, the former MLB pitcher was taken into custody on April 28.
After travelling to visit a girl he met online who claimed to be 14 years old, Maddox was placed under arrest. In a video aired on May 20, a gang of officers forcibly arrested him when he showed up.
After getting out of his red pickup truck, the former athlete can be seen being thrown to the ground and then handcuffed. The video has a voiceover stating that Maddox resisted being taken into custody “until our K-9 got involved.”
Maddox was additionally accused of producing or promoting a performance that featured a minor under the age of eighteen engaging in sexual activity, as well as illegally using a two-way communication device.
Sheriff T.K. Waters of Jacksonville stated, “the objective of this operation was to identify and arrest suspects who solicit children to engage in sexual acts using electronic devices,” during a police conference following the publication of the arrest footage.
“Undercover detectives posing as children chatted online with these adults,” Waters said. “These adults promised to do sex acts with alleged minors at prearranged settings and solicited sexual behaviour from them. These adults were detained as soon as they showed up at the designated spots to meet the youngsters.”
June 25 is Maddox’s next scheduled court date.
After making his MLB debut in June 2017, Maddox—a third-round selection by the Red Sox in 2012—pitched in 13 games.
Despite not playing in any games, Maddox was a member of the Red Sox roster that won the 2018 World Series. Nevertheless, he was given a World Series ring, which he later tried to sell in November 2021 at an auction.
Maddox attended the University of Florida to play collegiate baseball before beginning his professional league career.
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