Nine men arrested in Stateline underage solicitation sting

Over two days, nine men were arrested in Stateline in an underage prostitution sting.

All of the men arrested were Californians, including South Lake Tahoe residents Victor Medina-Barajas, 51, Brit Hall, 45, Javier Rodriguez-Aguilar, 22 and Aaron Fisher, 26.

Also arrested were Michael Harness, 46 of Lancaster, Calif., Michael Ballew, 30, of Auburn, Jose Zardeneta of Lodi, Aaron Dabney, 45, of Sacramento and Chonlagum Santrattiwong, 22.

On July 7 and 8, Douglas County Sheriff’s investigators, the Reno Police Department’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking team and the FBI conducted a human trafficking operation.

The men allegedly contacted undercover officers posing as minors for sex.

The men face charges including attempted sex trafficking of a child, attempted statutory sexual seduction, attempted child abuse involving sexual exploitation, soliciting a child for prostitution, attempted luring of a child, and one was charged with resisting arrest.

Two more men were cited and released for solicitation for prostitution of an adult.

It has been two weeks since a Reno man was sentenced to 12-30 months in prison as a result of a similar sting last year.

A handful of men were caught in last year’s sting and convicted of felonies since then.

In some of those cases, the men texted who they thought was a 17-year-old girl through an escort web site and made arrangements to meet, “Catch a Predator” style.

Those convicted of the charges must register as a sex offender. Brothels are legal in a handful of Nevada counties, including Storey and Lyon. However, Douglas is not one of them, and even where prostitution is legal, it is in actual brick and mortar establishments.