Seventeen people who showed up to a Waco hotel expecting to exchange money for sex got to see the inside of a jail cell instead.

The Waco Police Department's Street Crimes Unit organized a sex sting last weekend, placing online ads on websites that men looking for sex frequent. They also posted ads as a john seeking to pay for sex, Sgt. Patrick Swanton said.

"They met our officers instead," Swanton said.

The operation resulted in the arrests of 15 men and two women.

Swanton said women like those they arrested are the reason they pay so much attention to prostitution. It's not a victimless crime, he said.

"One of the females we arrested told us she had been trafficked since 2013," Swanton said. "Hopefully this will be her chance to be safe and make a difference."

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"Some people say 'who cares?' Well, we do," Swanton said. "It's a significant issue and there's usually something else going on with people involved in prostitution."

Swanton said this is the third sting organized by the unit, and warned potential offenders that it will happen again.

"If you think you're going to go to Waco to meet a prostitute, there's a good chance you'll meet the back of our police car," he said.

Click through the slideshow to see the mugshots of the people arrested during the operation.

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