In a move to send a message to men who pay for sex, authorities in Nassau County in New York state have arrested 104 male suspects in a month-long sting operation against prostitution.

Local papers said Nassau County authorities arrested 104 men for allegedly soliciting sex for money from undercover cops in a sting operation called "Operation Flush the Johns".

Nassau Country district attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement that women sex workers "too often remain the prime targets in prostitution investigations while the johns who fuel the exploitation are treated as mere witnesses."

Metro, the city paper, said these encounters were arranged through the website backpage.com and captured on hidden cameras in hotel rooms.

When the men arrived in the hotel rooms, they would be met by an undercover officer posing as a prostitute. As soon as the money was offered, the men would be arrested and charged, Rice's office was quoted as saying.

"My office and the police department are turning the tables on the illogical and immoral nature of that equation," Rice was quoted by Daily News as saying.

All 104 men pleaded not guilty, papers said. They each face a year in jail.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

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