MINOT, N.D. (AP) Thirteen men have been arrested on charges of soliciting sex in North Dakota as part of a 17-state sting operation that lasted more than two weeks.
Nearly 600 men were arrested across the country in the operation.
The Minot Police Department was the only agency in North Dakota participating in the effort.
Tom Dart is the sheriff of Cook County in Illinois. Dart launched the operation in 2011 and since then there have been more than 2,900 alleged sex solicitors who have been arrested.
During this latest operation another 23 suspects were arrested and charged with pimping, sex trafficking or promoting prostitution. Many suspects were arrested after answering online classified ads.
Dart says part of the reason for the program is to highlight the role that websites play in prostitution.