Sat Sep 13 00:00:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the information provided:

**Former Red Sox Pitcher Austin Maddox Sentenced to Prison in Underage Sex Sting**

**JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –** Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to an underage sex sting operation in Jacksonville.

Maddox, 34, pleaded guilty Thursday to meeting a minor to do unlawful acts and unlawful use of a two-way communications device. A charge of soliciting a child via computer was dismissed as part of a plea agreement with Florida prosecutors. Judge Lindsay Tygart also sentenced Maddox to five years of sex offender probation following his release.

Maddox will receive credit for the 501 days he has already spent in jail. He faced a potential sentence of up to five years.

The arrest stemmed from a multi-agency operation in April 2024 that targeted individuals suspected of soliciting sex from minors online. Maddox was one of 27 individuals arrested in the sting. According to officials, the suspects were allegedly communicating with individuals they believed to be children online and arranging in-person meetings.

Maddox agreed to meet the individual at a prearranged location, where he was subsequently arrested by law enforcement.

Maddox played college baseball at the University of Florida before being drafted by the Red Sox in 2012. He made 13 appearances for the Red Sox in 2017, his only season in the major leagues.

At the time of his arrest, Maddox was already on probation for a prior drug offense. He was arrested in Baker County in November 2022.

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