29 men, including soldier and constable, arrested in Central Texas prostitution sting



Scroll through the gallery for their booking photos. A mugshot is not a determination of guilt. less Deputies with the McLennan County Sherriff's Office arrested 29 men for soliciting prostitution online during a three week operation.

Scroll through the gallery for their booking photos. A mugshot is not a ... more Deputies with the McLennan County Sherriff's Office arrested 29 men for soliciting prostitution online during a three week operation. Photo: Fechter, Joshua I, McLennan County Sheriff's Office Photo: Fechter, Joshua I, McLennan County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 77 Caption Close 29 men, including soldier and constable, arrested in Central Texas prostitution sting 1 / 77 Back to Gallery

More than two dozen Central Texas men, including a McLennan County deputy constable and a Fort Hood sergeant, have been arrested during a weeks-long online prostitution sting conducted by the McLennan County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies announced the sting investigation Tuesday, during which they posed as young girls, prostitutes and pimps to drudge up those seeking underage sex and underage prostitutes to traffic, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported.

"We really didn't realize we were going to get this many people," McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said during the press conference.

McNamara did not respond to a call for comment.

RELATED: Sheriff: 20 'weird sickos' arrested in Central Texas child solicitation sting

Deputies arrested 29 suspects from their early 20s to mid-50s, according to mugshot information provided by the sheriff's office. Many of the suspects are registered as sex offenders or were previously convicted on charges of prostitution, the Tribune-Herald reported.

Steve Canava, a 51-year-old deputy constable for McLennan County, was arrested Feb. 27 as part of the sting and charged with soliciting a prostitute under the age of 18, a second degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Deputies also arrested Fort Hood Sgt. Darren Bradley on Feb. 16 and charged him with conspiracy to commit human trafficking after a sheriff's detective agreed to provide him with a minor for sex, according to the Tribune-Herald.

The McLennan County Sheriff's Office arrested 20 people for online solicitation of a minor in a similar two-week sting beginning Oct. 14.

At that time, McNamara said the suspects — 18 males and two females, ages ranging from 19 to 63 — attempted to meet with two officers posing as young girls online at sites ranging from discount stores to homes to fast food restaurants.

"It's really just about every kind of weird sicko you can think of," McNamara told the San Antonio Express-News.

Scroll through the above gallery for the booking photos of suspects arrested in the latest sting operation.

jfechter@mySA.com

Twitter: @JFreports