Story highlights Monthlong sting operation is part of effort to reduce sex trafficking in the US

Law enforcement across 17 states rescued 81 adult and juvenile victims, sheriff says

(CNN) A pastor, a state trooper and a convicted sex offender were among 1,000 people arrested in a monthlong period trying to sell or buy sex across the country.

The arrests were part of the National Johns Suppression Initiative, a series of stings aimed at reducing sex trafficking in the United States.

During the sting operation from June 28 until Monday, authorities cracked down on three Illinois brothels and arrested a convicted child molester in Seattle.

The most arrests were in Harris County, Texas, and in Seattle, with 170 and 160 arrests, respectively.

Cook County, Illinois, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart, the driving force behind the operation, said 37 law enforcement agencies across 17 states rescued 81 adult and juvenile victims. At least 1,020 sex buyers were arrested, and 15 people face trafficking-related charges, he said.

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