Prostitution sting in Travis County nets 17 people

Swipe through to see the 17 men arrested in the Travis County prostitution sting. Swipe through to see the 17 men arrested in the Travis County prostitution sting. Photo: Travis County Sheriff's Department Photo: Travis County Sheriff's Department Image 1 of / 228 Caption Close Prostitution sting in Travis County nets 17 people 1 / 228 Back to Gallery

The Travis County Sheriff's department is just the latest law enforcement agency in Texas to arrest more than a dozen men this month for alleged solicitation of sex, six of the men arrested face felony charges for alleged solicitation of a minor.

The stings were conducted at Sleep Inn, 14004 Owen Tech Blvd., and Comfort Suites, 15112 FM 1825, on Oct. 13 and 19 as part of the Wells Branch Initiative, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

BUSTED: Local pastor among 140 johns busted in prostitution sting

The operation involved officers posting sexual advertisements online. The interested buyers then arrived at the hotel where they were greeted by a woman to discuss the cost for sex. Sheriff's deputies were waiting inside the hotel rooms, the American-Statesman added.

The men arrested for solicitation of a minor were Everett Avila-Boyden, 23, Corey William Crawford, 49, Norberto Corona, 33, Gilbert Emanuel Hernandez, 19, Faustino Guadarrama Sotelo, 33, and Phillip Stephen Villanueva, 42.

Texas law enforcement agencies have been busy this year busting people for prostitution and human trafficking. In August alone, more than 250 johns and sex traffickers were arrested in the Houston area as part of a nationwide operation called the "National Johns Suppression Initiative." This was followed up with another prostitution sting last week in Houston resulting in 139 arrests. One of the men arrested included Emonte Moliere, a man the First Haitian Community Church lists as the senior pastor.

The Wells Branch Initiative targets hot spots in the area for prostitution, drugs, credit card skimmers and other crimes. Wells Branch is roughly 15 miles north of Austin.