23 men arrested in Bloomington prostitution sting

Bloomington police arrested nearly two dozen men in a prostitution sting last week, according to the department.

Officers from Bloomington's special investigations unit created a phony ad for an adult sex worker featuring photos of an undercover Bloomington officer, according to a news release from the Police Department.

Police posted the ad online last week on several websites, and waited for people to respond. More than 200 people responded to the ad, police said.

Twenty-three men were arrested March 15 and 16 after they showed up to meet with the person they thought was a sex worker, Police Chief Booker Hodges said during a news conference Monday.

All will be charged with gross misdemeanors, though Hodges said one man could face a felony charge for possessing a firearm as a felon. Two other people were arrested with firearms, Hodges said.

Part of the purpose of the sting, Hodges said, was to find potential victims of human trafficking. He said he hoped the men arrested could point police to real sex workers whose services they sought in the past and who may be trafficking victims.

Police from Maple Grove, Eden Prairie and Richfield worked with Bloomington, along with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.

Hodges said police agencies along Interstate 494 often collaborate on such stings with the aim to deter human trafficking.