Det.-Sgt. Thai Truong, who oversees the operation, said it began around Christmas 2012 when the VICE unit tried to get just one underage victim home for the holidays. Instead of one, police discovered 31 women being trafficked, nine of whom were younger than 18.

"That led us to the genesis of how we are going to combat child sex trafficking," he said.

The sting has proved effective, he said, considering how hard it has been in the past to extricate underage victims from the world of prostitution.

"Enlisting co-operation from these victims is very difficult," he said, explaining that out of the 85 minors identified as trafficked in the region, 49 were extricated by police. "Getting them to trust us is challenging."

Also on board is the Ministry of the Attorney General. Susan Orlando, provincial co-ordinator of the human trafficking team, said she has assigned a team of two Crown attorneys to help prosecute these crimes and help train others to do the same. So far, sentences have ranged from three to seven months in prison.

As for the men charged, a list shows seven from Vaughan, six from Richmond Hill, 11 from Markham, three from Newmarket, one from Aurora, three from Stouffville and Bradford.

The men come from a variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, said Truong, who noted most men were married, employed and did not have a criminal record.

The prices negotiated for the would-be victims' services ranged from $60 to $120 for a half hour and $140 to $300 for an hour, he added.