Sonoma County prostitution sting nets eight arrests

An undercover prostitution operation involving detectives posing online as a woman or a teen resulted in the arrests of eight Sonoma County men, a Santa Rosa police sergeant said Monday.

Three Sonoma County agencies ran the operation Thursday evening as part of a nationwide FBI effort called Operation Cross Country targeting human trafficking and prostitution.

The local effort targeted people using online ads on prostitution websites for sex with adults or children, Sgt. Terry Anderson said in a news release.

Santa Rosa police, Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies and Sonoma County District Attorney investigators responded to the solicitations, with one pretending to be under 18. The men were directed to a Santa Rosa hotel, where four were arrested on suspicion of soliciting prostitution and four on suspicion of soliciting a minor for lewd purposes, Anderson said.

The suspects ranged from ?25 to 52 years. Four men were from Santa Rosa and the others were from Windsor, Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Healdsburg.

They were booked into the Sonoma County Jail and later released on bail.

This year marked the 10th iteration of Operation Cross Country and the first time several other countries also participated in the effort. In the United States, ?239 traffickers and their associates were arrested and 82 minors were rescued this year, according to the FBI.

Staff Writer J.D. Morris contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com.