An undercover prostitution sting conducted last night in Pierce County led to the arrests of 6 men and 13 women. In this multi-agency operation, led by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, undercover officers posed as “johns,” and set up “dates” with prostitutes through multiple websites.

“In operations like this, the focus is on apprehending the traffickers,” said Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor. “We will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who abuse and exploit victims through sex trafficking.”

The men, who were working as pimps, were arrested on charges of felony promoting prostitution. The women were arrested for misdemeanor prostitution. Charges will be forwarded to the County Prosecutor and Lakewood City Attorney.

Multiple agencies collaborated in this operation including: the South Sound Child Exploitation Task Force (SSCETF), Washington State Patrol’s Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force (MECTF), Lakewood Police Department, Tacoma Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Protective Services (FPS), Washington State Department of Corrections, University Place Police Department and Lakewood Municipal Court.