The Boston Red Sox are one of the most popular professional baseball teams in the United States.
Red Sox fans are among the most passionate fans in the entire country.
That is why Boston fans were horrified to see a former Red Sox pitcher’s name on this list of 27 awful people in Florida.
Child predators have always been a top concern for parents and law-enforcement officials.
But it is becoming easier and easier for child predators to take advantage of young kids through social media.
According to data from organizations that track online pedophilia cases and trends, an estimated 500,000 predators have become a daily threat to kids on the internet.
“In fiscal year 2023, the FBI opened more than 5,200 crimes against children cases, arrested more than 2,800 individuals involved in the sexual exploitation of children, and located and identified more than 5,200 child victims,” News4jax (Jacksonville)reported.
Undercover law-enforcement agents are trying to track down predators and toss them in jail before they have an opportunity to harm a child.
From April 24 through April 28, multiple agencies in Florida conducted an undercover anti-child predator sting called “Operation Valiant Knights.”
The sting resulted in 27 child predators being found and taken off the streets.
“These adults solicited sexual activity and committed to engaging in sex acts with purported minors at pre-arranged locations,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
As part of the sting, undercover agents pretended to be underage girls who agreed to meet up with the predator at a specific location where they were arrested.
In total, “27 men thought they were chatting online with underage girls,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office reported. “Instead, they were talking to our detectives.”
But the recent sting in Florida led to the arrest of former Boston Red Sox pitcher Austin Maddox.
“Maddox, 33, began communicating with an undercover agent pretending to be an underage girl on April 28,” WPBF reported. “He expressed his intent to have sex with the girl even after she told him that she was 14,” the report continued. “Maddox agreed to meet the girl at a pre-arranged location, where he was arrested by law enforcement officers.”
The Sheriff’s Office released a video showing Maddox exiting his red truck while he approached a home where he expected to meet an underage girl.
That is when a group of deputies appeared and tackled him to the ground.
“Maddox resisted arrest until our canine got involved,” police said.
Police arrested Maddox and charged him with four felony counts, including traveling to meet after using a computer to seduce/solicit/lure a child, solicitation of a child via computer to engage in sexual conduct, unlawful use of two-way communication device, and produce/promote performance which includes sexual performance by a child.
Maddox is a Jacksonville native.
He was a superstar pitcher at the University of Florida and was drafted in the third round by the Red Sox.
In 2017, he played 13 games in the MLB before a shoulder injury ended his career.
And now Maddox will be heading to the slammer to spend several years behind bars.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
