Lynda J Edwards

Knoxville News Sentinel

Former Vols football player Mackenzie "Mack" Crowder, 23, must serve two months in jail on reduced charges after soliciting sex online with what police said he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

That girl actually was a Florida law enforcement officer looking for online predators in a sting operation. Crowder pleaded guilty last week.

Sgt. Spencer Gross of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said Crowder faced five charges when arrested in February 2016. Four of those charges were for sending four nude photos to someone police said he thought was a minor.

"Those charges were dismissed by the state's attorney (for Pinellas County)," Gross said.

Crowder pleaded guilty Friday to unlawful use of a communication device. ​He was ordered to spend three years on probation.

Crowder was an offensive lineman at UT from 2011-15.

Kendall Davidson, executive assistant state attorney in Florida and one of the prosecutors in Crowder's case, said Crowder will not need to register as a sex offender.

Davidson said a psychologist conducted a thorough psychosexual evaluation of Crowder and concluded he posed a minimal risk to society. Davidson said prosecutors also received "a stack of character references for Crowder."

"Crowder initially went online looking for an adult companion, so this looked like a possible lapse in judgment," Davidson said.