JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Former Major League Baseball player Austin Maddox, who had a brief stint as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in 2017, was arrested in Florida in what authorities described as a “child predator” sting.

Maddox was one of 27 people arrested late last month as part of a multi-agency operation, said Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters. They are accused of soliciting sex over the Internet from people they believed to be children, officials said.

“Austin Maddox, a former MLB Red Sox player, traveled with the intent to engage in sexual activity with a 14-year-old child,” Waters said at a news conference Monday.

Indictment against Austin Maddox

Maddox, 33, began communicating with an undercover agent pretending to be an underage girl on April 28, an arrest report said. He expressed his intent to have sex with the girl even after she told him she was 14, officials said.

Maddox agreed to meet the girl at a prearranged location, where he was arrested by police officers, authorities said.

Video released by the sheriff's office showed an officer throwing Maddox to the ground.

“Maddox resisted arrest until our K-9 intervened,” the video says.

He is charged with four crimes, including traveling to a meeting after using a computer to solicit a child. He is in jail on a $300,000 bond. His attorney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from The Associated Press.

Austin Maddox's career with the Red Sox

Maddox played college ball for the University of Florida and was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2012. After several years in the minors, he made his major league debut with the team in 2017. According to Baseball Reference, he appeared in 13 games for Boston in 2017 and pitched 17 innings.

He spent about three months on the Red Sox roster before returning to the minors to recover from shoulder injuries. He was released from the team in 2019.