A week-long undercover sting targeting online child predators and online prostitution ended with 39 arrests in one Florida County, officials said.
Polk County Sheriff's Office officials said 19 of the men who were arrested were traveling to meet minors for sex.
"We were in search of child predators, we were in search of deviants who were seeking out children as young as 10 years old to violate their childhood, to sexually batter them," Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference Tuesday.
Detectives posed as children on social media, mobile apps and other websites during the operation that ran from May 16-21, Judd said.
Of the suspects arrested, six were from Polk County but the other 13 drove there from Orange County, Hillsborough County, Pasco County, Marion County, Duval County, Pinellas County and Brevard County.
Seven of the suspects asked undercover officers about virginity, five sent nude photos, four asked for nude photos, three said they wanted to teach them about sex and 11 brought condoms or said they would bring condoms, officials said. Another two brought marijuana, while one brought alcohol and one brought whipped cream.
Another 19 suspects were arrested for online prostitution after detectives responded to online ads or posted ads posing as prostitutes.
