in the shadows of of the magic kingdom where orange florida's orange groves give way to the concrete jungles of orlando and tampa, the business of sex for sale is booming. >> go ahead, take it. >> one band of local police and prosecutors are fighting back. >> the message is clear -- we're going to lock you up. >> welcome to polk county. >> aside from the fact that it's a public health problem, aside from the fact that it's morally corrupt, the reality is these girls aren't choosing to do this on their own. >> tonight, msnbc goes under cover with the men and women of

the polk county sheriff's office as they work to rescue girls and young women caught up in the underground second trade to crack down on the men who buy and sell sex and stop vice cold at the polk county line. >> hands up. >> do you know what county this is? polk county. >> life is miserable for using bad judgment in polk county. >> do you think that today will change your opinion about women who are sold on line? >> today will change my life completely about everything. take a ride down florida's i-4 core dorks and you'll find yourself in polk county. on the culture line between big city vice and small town values. >> we don't put up with any nasty business in this

community. if you want the big city stuff, go to the big cities. you all ready to do something? >> yes, sir. >> meet grady judd, sheriff of polk county. in 40 years as a cop, he's waged a battle again vice crimes and human trafficking. >> we wear them out. >> to understand the sheriff's values, it's important to know a little about the place where he was born and raised. 50 years ago this stretch of central florida was a sleepy patchwork of cattle ranches and citrus groves. then came a mouse, and with it theme parks, millions of tourists, rapid development, and ultimately the business of sex for sale. >> all of a sudden we had nude dancing establishment. we had massage parlors. i'm a young deputy during part of this time, and we start fighting against this in this community because -- wait a minute, that's not the wholesome community that we wanted. >> from the outside, it may look like just another roadside oasis for wary travelers.

but inside, deputies with the polk county sheriff's office are busy spinning a high-tech web to snare bears and sellers of sex. >> this is the technology hub of the operation. we've seen all our internal cameras that we've put in place. what it allows us to do is see the hotel at different angles. see our undercovers. >> in the spring of 2013, our producer, grace khan, was granted exclusive access to a massive sting operation here that will ultimately net more than 90 arrests for prostitution and pandering. >> our people expect us to enforce the law, period. >> state's attorney jerry hill has almost 30 years' experience battling vice in central florida. >> i don't think you ever just send a signal by busting one shop or doing one sting. i don't believe that sends a message. i think it's a repetitive, consistent course of conduct that makes, for the sake of

argument, people say maybe we want to go into a neighboring area, but we don't want to do business in polk county. >> most everybody's done this dish. >> it's a little after 5:00 p.m. when lieutenant steve ward takes the lead in the brenchs, briefing undercovers and takedown teams on the protocol for tonight's operation. >> the most important thing now is if you guys got somebody coming on the hook, we need to make sure we get it on this board. >> male undercovers troll the internet looking for sex ads on websites like backpage. >> this is the ad here, this girl. >> inviting women to visit the hotel and provide sex for money. >> you doing calls tonight? >> meanwhile, female undercovers pose as sellers of sex, posting their own ads on line to lure unsuspecting johns into the trap. >> i'm tall, i have blonde hair, blue eyes. >> ideally, undercovers will attempt to make the deals for sex on the phone before the subjects even arrive. >> for you i'll do -- since you

drive further, i'll do like $35. i have someone on the way now. i posted an ad on to backpage.com, and he's responded to one of my ads. i have charges on him. half an hour. $100, more $75 -- >> what's up, girl? >> meanwhile, this male undercover also has an unsuspecting mark on the line. >> can we have fun and stuff or what? i responded to an ad for an escort. the name black magic. she said, "how much time you want?" "30 minutes." $130. >> with charge in place, black magic goes up on the board along with the john. the team prepares for their arrival. >> it's crazy. they'll come -- there's periods where there will be two and three people coming at the same time. >> outside the hotel, officers keep watch for the subjects and relay details when they arrive.

>> got a while male, just pulled in in a nissan altima. looks like a rear frac on it. >> are you here? >> an unsuspecting john is the first to arrive. >> did you get my text? i sent you the room number. >> he makes contact with the undercover. she gives him the room number and tries to calm his jittery nerves. >> yeah, no. it's cool. like -- not a big deal. he said that he was a student and that he had never done this before. so he's -- you know, trying to portray himself as like he's wanting to try something new, that he's never done this. if you want anything like, you know, if you want anything like real crazy, it's a little bit extra. but we can talk about this. >> you think this is a first timer possibly? >> we'll see. i don't know. some of them play the game really well. >> the nervous john makes his way up to room 207, unaware that his every move is being observed and recorded by the polk county sheriff's office. after some small talk about sex, he hands over $100 to the

undercover. >> go ahead. >> sheriff's deputies move in and rain on his parade. >> oh, my god. please, please. i -- i can't. no. just -- >> you're fine. >> please. >> do you have anything on you that we need to know about? >> no, no, no. >> narcotics, pills -- >> no. i'm so scared. >> the first man in custody tonight is 31-year-old vinacio gonzalez. friends call him vinny. to the judge, he is case 19098. >> welcome to polk county. this is what we do with folks who violate law in the county. we hook them up, take them to jail. another one bites the dust. >> vinny is hustled across the hallway for processing while deputies reset the trap. >> all right. she's out. she's walking up to the front door. black female. long hair, white shirt, khaki shorts. >> once again, the unsuspecting woman is documented as she makes

her way up to the date in room 207. the undercover has already secured charges against her. and as soon as she takes his cash, sheriff's deputies move in for the arrest. >> okay. go. >> oh, my god. >> turn around for us. >> this 26-year-old woman who we'll call samantha is more than 600 miles away from her home in north carolina. with only $3 in her pocket, she is now broke and busted. tonight's operation has only just begun, and police already have two in custody. before the night is over, they'll be joined by many, many more. it's made to look glamorous. you're going to sneak away from your wife, and you're going to come here and do something a little naughty. then you're going to go back to your normal life. that's not the way it is at all.

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on the outskirts of orlando, florida, a man pulless off the highway and heading to a hotel. he makes his way to a room in search of sex for sale. instead he soon finds himself in handcuffs and bound for the polk county jail. >> you know, i told him what my name was. he introduced himself as vinny. >> 31-year-old vinny gonzalez tells police that this is his first time buying sex. they suspect that he is either lying or extremely unlucky. does is sound like he's a first timer? >> i don't know. he wasn't as experienced as some are. i don't know if that would be his first time. he seemed very, very nervous and unsure of like what -- how things are supposed to go down. so i mean, it's possible. >> i'm sorry. >> the nervous young man is cooperative but not exactly forthcoming. >> i was just -- one time.

staying here to go to school, and i'm staying in my motor home. and i just went for -- to go for a drive and just to see. >> were you interested in regular sex? >> well, i -- i thought i was going to -- i don't know. i've never done anything like this before. i'm completely not lying, i swear to god. >> i believe you. >> i saw an ad on line, and i just read it, and i called the number. and i really didn't even think anybody was going to answer. i was like, i'll just go see. i mean, i -- >> you brought $100. what were you -- you had to expect something. >> i wasn't 100% sure. she said a half-hour. a half-hour and -- >> what were you wanting for $100? >> i wasn't honestly sure what to expect. i -- i wasn't really planning on having actual sex, no. i was not. >> what kind of sex were you planning on having? >> i thought i was going to get a massage and -- i don't know

what else it would entail. i honestly did not. i wasn't sure. >> vinny may or may not have been sure what $100 can buy on backpage, but one thing is for sure -- he just bought a one-way ticket to jail. >> it's made to look glamorous. you're going to sneak away from your wife, and you're going to come here and do something a little naughty. and then year going to go back to your normal life. that's not the way it is at all. and the state of florida has a very liberal public records law. if you get arrested, you're going to be a public record for rest of your life. >> with vinny in the cooler, investigators turn now to the female in custody. 26-year-old samantha. among her effects, they find condoms, vaseline, and a boxcutter. >> why would somebody carry a box cutter? >> protection. >> what were you here for? >> for companionship. >> okay. what do you mean by companionship? >> companionship, company. >> you didn't discuss anything

in the room with the undercover detective like, hey, i'll do anything, i just won't do anal? you didn't -- you didn't talk about that? >> i did say that. >> okay. so tell me more about that. >> i mean, i'm here to keep company. there's some things i won't do. >> you shouldn't be doing this anyway. you know that, right? it's dangerous. >> samantha is less than forth good coming with police, but she tells our producer she's been selling herself since she was a child. >> i've been doing this since, like i said, about 13, 12. >> you work by yourself? >> yes. >> so there's no guy when's looking for you now? i saw a guy in the hallway. >> no. no guy. >> really? samantha insists that she is operating independently despite the fact that she is more than 600 miles from home with only $3 in her pocket. so you're doing this by choice? >> i'm not being accused of

doing anything. >> you're not, really? and you got $3 your purse. you're choosing to do this? do you know girls who choose to do this? because it's, what, a good way it make a living? >> i don't know nobody else that's doing this. >> if you've went doing it since you were 12, you said you did that by choice? >> no. >> no? i didn't think so. samantha reveals that for years she was molested by a relative. at 16, pregnant with his baby, she ran away from home. sadly, it's an all-too-common tale for women working in the underground sex trade. this is a tough life. yes or no? >> i mean, life isn't easy. >> there's nothing that you want to rewrite in terms of your life, or if you had choices when you were 12? >> i mean, that was the situation i was in back then, so

-- >> you don't think that situation has anything to do with you sitting here now? >> it may. >> most of the women i've interviewed have went trafficked had something terrible happen to them when they were still a child. and they definitely think that there was some kind of relationship between the two. this is not the life that you chose for yourself at 12, is it? >> no. >> samantha's candor offers a unique opportunity for us to engage the would-be john in the same holding pen. i just have to ask this one last time -- and show him the painful reality that lies just behind the smiles of women who sell themselves on line. this young lady over here is caught in the opposite situation. do you know how most of the girls -- do you have any empathy for the girls who end up selling themselves? do you think they do it by choice? >> i -- i don't know. >> you don't know? have you ever given any thought? do you think those girls that you're looking at are making career choices? >> no. >> why do you think they're

doing it? would you sell yourself for $100 for a half an hour? what does that tell you about some of these, they're selling themselves on line to complete and utter strangers? >> you know, you wake up every morning, you got choices to make. the deeper message is that if you engage in this conduct, you're engaging in human trafficking. and that's not acceptable. >> so polk county has no sympathy for the johns who come here to buy. >> zero. zero sympathy. you'll see that in this operation. >> will that give you something to think about the next time you're curious and you go -- >> yeah -- >> on backpages? >> definitely. >> has there been a lesson learned here? >> yeah. a big one. >> what happened when you were young? >> i was sold. >> you were sold? what do you mean you were sold? >> my mother got drugs for me and gave me to that guy. for the drugs.

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add vanishing deductible from nationwide insurance and get $100 off for every year of safe driving. which for you, shouldn't be a problem. just another way we put members first, because we don't have shareholders. join the nation. nationwide is on your side. in polk county, florida, sheriff's investigators are in the early hours of a massive

human trafficking sting. >> hey, is this tiffany? what you got going on? >> i'm at a hotel. >> yeah, how much did you say? >> for you i'll do $35. >> are you going to look like anything -- >> i promise you will not be disappointed. >> after two quick arrests in the afternoon, detective brace themselves for what will soon become a very busy evening. following a long day at work, this 26-year-old man, juan melo, is looking to blow off some steam with someone he thinks is a woman for hire. unfortunately for mr. melo, she is an undercover cop, and he is now under arrest. >> you have anything on you that we need to know about? any guns, weapons? >> no, just here for the sex. i told her. >> okay, that's fine. >> police hustle mr. melo across the hall for processing and quickly reset the trap. >> gordon opens got one here now. danielle's got one. >> he's got one here, too. >> okay. >> with multiple subjects on the

way, the investigation begins to take on the dynamic of an air traffic control tower. >> may have a couple on top of each other. hispanic female in the door. then this white male is right behind her. oh, this is going to be interesting. >> getting in the elevator together. >> oh, man -- >> the hallway is suddenly crowded with players in the cat-and-mouse game. the woman senses something is not right, and she turns back toward the exit. but the male is unwilling to leave without getting what he came for. >> grab her. >> police already have enough evidence for charges on the woman, so they apprehend her in the hallway while the female undercover makes a deal for sex with the john in the room. >> show me your hands. show me your hands. do you have anything illegal on you? >> no, officer. >> the 24-year-old, muhammad ahmed, heals from the suburbs of chicago. he tells police he's in florida with his wife celebrating their

honeymoon. >> where does she think you're at? >> she was sleeping, and i told her i was going to leave for a little bit. i looked all night, and i -- i promise it will never happen again. >> he told her he was just going to go out for a little bit. they were going to be here all week. i told him, yes, he said, "i'll be coming to see you all week then." >> ahmed is shuttled crass the hall for processing when his cell phone begins to ring nonstop. >> my wife's calling. may i please answer it? >> no -- >> my god. she's going to be -- >> you're an adult, right? you're a grown man. are you? okay, stop crying. >> on the other end, his bride is all alone in a hotel room wondering where her new husband is. >> is there any way i can call her -- >> sh, be quiet. >> once ahmed is processed and formally charged, he's allowed to contact his wife. >> i'm with the police right now. i just wanted to let you know,

please be safe, okay? [ speaking spanish ] >> i need to let her know -- don't tell -- [ speaking spanish ] >> i said, "don't speak to my mom." >> meanwhile, the beat goes on. >> we should have a male who's in the parking lot now. >> one again, they have two targets on the way up. >> there's a female just came in. just got dropped off. >> walking in the front door now. >> you got charges -- yeah. you got them both here. they're going on the elevator together. >> oh, boy. >> all right. >> down the hallway. >> we've got two show up at the same time again at the door. a male and a female. they stood there, talking to each other for a while. >> police already have charges on the male but not the female. >> all right. get her to go in the hallway -- >> once again, they need to carefully and quickly choreograph their arrests. >> we have the -- opened the door and brought thenally because we didn't have charges on her yet. and the male took off walking down the hallway. okay, go get him. she got in the door. they ran down the hall and

grabbed him. we had charges on him. >> 36-year-old gopala rediveri is arrested and stashed quietly in the command room while the undercover makes a deal with the female in the room next door. as soon as she agrees to $100 for an hour of sex, she is arrested. 24-year-old jacqueline press is more than 1,400 miles from her home in lubbock, texas. this is her fourth arrest for prostitution. she tells police she has been in the life since age 15. do you know the series "sex slaves in america" on msnbc? >> well. >> have you seen it? >> yes, i have. >> what have you seen? >> i seen like a lot of the sex trafficking that y'all done. >> yeah? you think it's a problem in this country? >> yes. >> you know that firsthand, right? why are you here tonight? >> trying to get some money for

my kids. >> your kids? how many kids? >> two. >> jacqueline claimed she was first trafficked as a teenager in texas when her mother traded her to a local pimp in exchange for drugs. >> a lot of stuff happened when i was younger. >> what happened when you were younger? >> i was sold. >> what do you mean you were sold in. >> sold by my mother to a pimp. >> your mom sold you to a pimp? >> yes. >> how old were you? >> 15. my mother got drugs for me and gave me to that guy for the drugs. >> did you have -- when you were 15, did you have to turn that money over to the pimp? >> uh-huh. >> all of it? >> uh-huh. >> you didn't keep any? how much do you have now is how does that work? >> i don't know. >> jacqueline insists that she is not under the control of a pimp, but she cannot account for the fact she's more than 1,400 miles from home with no money. so are you keeping any money?

are you handing it over to somebody? >> no, i'm keeping my money. >> you are? why don't you have any? >> i don't have any money on me. >> but i mean dish. >> yeah, i have money, but i don't have money on me, yeah. >> right. right. jacqueline is remarkably candid, yet she seems almost numb to the reality of what her young life has become. you see like you're so over it. >> yeah. i mean, over the years after doing it for so many years, you get over it. >> do you really get over that trauma? >> not over the trauma, but you know -- >> you try not to think about it? >> yes. >> are you going to get out? >> yeah. this isn't what i want to do with my life, but you know, it just gets me piby. that's about it. >> you drove up here. you know it and i know what she was coming up here to do. this? get up! get up! get up! get up!

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here's what's happening -- secretary of state john kerry spoke with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu over the phone on sunday saying the u.s. wants to play a role in deescalating the recent violence in gaza. the israelis and palestinians have both largely ignored international call for a cease-fire. and tomorrow morning in italy, the "costa concordia" ship will be taken away. the ship crashed in january of 2012, killing 32 passengers board. back to to msnbc "undercover." on a warm night in central florida, investigators with the polk county sheriff's office are working undercover, advertising sex for sale. >> what are you looking for? hour, half-hour? >> it's about 10:45 p.m. when this undercover gets a call back from a would-be john. >> do what? >> he says he's in the parking lot, and he wants her to come down and meet him in his car.

>> i feel like i conduct business out there, i feel like i'm walking out meeting up with some dude in a car. you know? that makes me nervous. i'm saying, you can come to my room. if you don't like it, you can leave. like you don't have to stay. >> from their positions outside, police watch the man exit his vehicle and enter the hotel. >> yeah, he's walking toward the front door now. and he is fixing to enter the building. >> inside, surveillance cameras follow the man into the lobby, but he does not go up to the room. instead, he places yet another call to the undercover asking her once again to meet him downstairs. >> are you saying you would come up to my room after i talk to you in the lob? like what -- i don't understand -- like i feel like you're wasting my time. what -- like, what are you wanting? >> police are not inclined to let the man dictate the terms of this deal, nor do they want to possibly blow their cover by making a scene in the lobby. >> that him there -- >> instead, they keep eyes on

him and wait for him to make the next move. >> he's still hanging out on the first floor there. but they have charges on him. they said if he goes to leave, they said we can take him off. >> outside, police prepare for the subject to possibly slip out the back door. it seems he may have discovered that he's being watched, and he's beginning to get spooked. >> the guy's in the lobby told the u.c. that he ain't going to jail, and he ain't going to go now. >> as if on cue, the man gets up and makes tracks for a side exit. >> there he is. there he is. rip her -- he's going to the car. >> police are lying in wait. >> sit up. bring your foot in. stand up. >> 40-year-old ismail acorcce is a native of morocco. tonight like all the others, he will call the polk county jail home. >> hey, is this amanda? >> meanwhile, a male undercover is working on booking a date with a very young looking woman who goes by the name amanda. >> is that you in the pictures, first of all? >> amanda agrees to $100 for

half an hour of sex and tells the undercover she's on the way. >> i got one here. got one here. she said she's coming up now. >> at first glance, amanda appears to be very young, possibly even a juvenile. >> for her -- she agreed to sex. >> as soon as she commits to the deal and takes the cash, sheriff's deputies move in for the arrest. >> go ahead, take her. >> stand up. >> a quick look at amanda's i.d. tells investigators that she is not a juvenile. she's 20 years old and more than 1,200 miles away from her home in upstate new york. >> what's -- >> i got dropped off. >> what type of vehicle? >> investigators quickly turn their attention to the car that delivered her to the hotel. >> sheriff's office. hands up. >> the man behind the wheel is 36-year-old quintone pittman. police suspect he may be amanda's pimp.

>> they're bringing him to the side door. bringing him to the side door. >> pittman is brought inside for processing. >> how old are you again? >> 20. >> okay. >> police interview amanda, but she is reluctant to talk, especially when her suspected pimp is pulled in to the processing room. >> who's the guy that came up here with you? >> dropped me off. >> just dropped off? how do you know him? >> i don't -- i really don't. >> you don't know him? what's his name? >> i don't know -- >> what's his name? >> i don't know him. >> amanda insists that quinstoen just a stranger who gaveler a road. quintone tells a different story. >> whether but first meeter? >> long her a known time. we're neighbors. >> you're neighbors? >> we were. >> okay. what of the reason for coming up here today? >> she said she had a date. >> a date? she said, "hey, give me a ride, i got a date at a hotel room?" >> slowly but surely, quintone implicates himself, admitting to

driving amanda to dates in exchange for what he calls gas money. >> are we safe to know that you knew she was coming up here to commit prostitution? >> i just want to know what i'm charged with. >> it ae's prostitution. that's a felony. you drove that girl up here to commit an act of prostitution. you knew -- >> unknowing -- >> no, not unknowingly. not unknowingly -- >> check my record. >> your record has nothing to do with this. it has absolutely nothing to do with this. you're a smart guy. you know and i know what she was coming up here to do. >> have a seat in one of those empty chairs. >> wow. >> quintone is placed in the holding room to await transport to jail. meanwhile, in the room next door, our producer, grace, reaches tout amanda to learn more about her. >> see, now you have your whole life ahead of you. what are you doing caught up in this sting operation? you're smarter than this.

>> amanda says that she was recently working in a coffee shop and attending community college in upstate new york, but she dropped out. >> how did you end up here? there are people who can help you. there are organizations that can help you. more and more people know about it. more and more people -- i know that you don't want to do this -- do you love him? >> no. >> do you think he loves you? >> no. >> you don't think he loves you? >> no. it's nothing like that. >> oh. then what is it? oh, you really don't know -- >> no. >> okay. >> like so many young women in her predicament, amanda is unwilling to admit anything about the man under arrest for pimping her out tonight. >> my god. >> i don't know him. >> even when in custody, women like amanda are often more afraid of upsetting their pimps than going to jail.

>> so you're saying that you drove her as a favor? >> she had a date. i gave her a ride. >> she told you she had a date? >> that's what she said. calling me a pimp, and i don't even have a criminal record. it is what it is. >> the longer you stay -- you stay down here, he's going to use you and abuse you until you're all done. just go home if you can. isn't there somebody, some relative you can call? there's nobody? >> what some people often fail to appreciate is the fact that for many young women like amanda, there really is no good place to go. especially when they're terrified of the traffickers who control them. >> do you think that today will change your opinion about women who are sold on line? >> today will change may life completely about everything. mpay they'll save you by switching,

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in polk county, florida, a human trafficking sting heads in to midnight, and the arrests are piling up. >> oh, i think we're looking at 14 maybe right now. we still have a couple more that -- couple more possibilities for tonight. >> this is a successful night. >> so far, so good, yes. >> among those arrested tonight, a half a dozen men like these who came here to buy sex. >> have a seat on one of the plastic chairs, all right? >> you got it. >> a brief break in the action affords us an opportunity to speak with them. how old are you? >> 36. >> are you married? >> yeah. >> so why -- have you done this before? have you been on backpages before? >> no. see, i thought it -- it was a massage. >> would you be surprised to

know that every guy i've talked to tonight has said the same thing? so are you the one guy who's telling the truth? what is your wife going to say? does she know that you're doing this? >> yeah. i go to massages -- while i'm in dallas, i go to massages. >> in dallas. where in dallas do you go for massages? do you also go on backpages to get massages in dallas? >> i google and, you know, whatever comes close by. you know, if it's coming out like, you know, cheap. so i go for that massage. >> so when you look at the pictures on line and you see naked ladies there and ladies with their butt hanging out and boobs hanging out, did you see the words "deep tissue" in that ad? >> no. >> are you going to be straight with me? >> yeah. >> really? >> uh-huh. >> i'm giving you one more chance. >> i wish you had a lie detector which i can prove it to you. >> okay. are these your typical guys who come to buy sex in operations like this? did they dmifr any way? did they vary any way?

>> they all have their own reasons, i guess. i think we even got a guy tonight on his honeymoon. i don't understand that. i don't understand any of it. >> muhammad, is it true that you're here on your honeymoon? where does your wife think you are? she's probably really worried. in fact, muhammad's wife was worried enough to find a missing person's report today with local police. have you ever bought a girl before today? is this a habit that you have, that you're trying to break? can you tell me why you were on backpages tonight? are you going to do this again, muhammad? >> never. >> your cell phone -- >> perhaps the most candid account tonight comes from 26-year-old juan melo. >> this is just completely my fault. i mean -- >> who admits to seeking sex for sale as a release from the stress of work and a troubled

relationship with his girlfriend. >> so why were you on backpages today? >> it was so stressful. we got into a fight last night, and i was just so stressful today. i drove all day, going from one client to another, and it was just -- >> this was going to be your treat yourself? >> kind of, sort of. >> how do you think she's going to react when she finds out? >> she's going to leave me. >> why did you feel like you had to go backpages? >> we broke up last year. and -- then i went away for a couple of months. we started talking on the phone

again, and i told her that i was going to come back and make it work. >> like the other men in custody tonight, juan says that this is his first foray into the world of sex for sale, but our producer grace kahn remains skeptical. >> you're telling me you went on backpages for the first time today? >> yeah. >> are you telling the truth? >> i swear to god i'm telling the truth. that's why i can't believe this. can't believe it. >> you must have looked at the ads before -- >> yeah. i looked at them. yeah. i looked at them. but i just -- like i was like -- yeah, whatever, you know. >> you just never had the nerve? >> yeah. just never -- never -- never had to do this or, you know -- >> can i ask you, do you know what human trafficking is?

>> yeah. >> do you think the girls here are doing it on their own? >> some of them are obviously. some others are not obviously. i mean, i'm nobody to dodge -- yeah, maybe they are going through worse things and that's the only thing that they -- >> would you let a man have sex with you ten times a day? >> no. absolutely not. >> do you think that would be an enjoyable way to spend -- to make your living? >> no. yeah when you put it that way, yes, of course, it's -- i mean, it's -- of course it is not easy. that's something that's not -- >> would it change your mind about buying sex if you knew the girl you were buying sex from was raped by her father at the age of 4? would it change the way you view girls on backpages?

>> yeah -- obviously it's just when you think about it like -- that girl could be -- could be any -- it is any -- it's somebody's daughter. it's somebody's sisters, and -- yeah. it is -- it's sad. >> do you think that today will change your opinion about women who are sold on line? >> today will change my life about everything completely, and yes. >> you're never going to do this again, are you? >> absolutely not. >> there's no drugs, there is nothing. i am just -- >> why are you here? were you gross rcery shopping? >> no. the cadillac summer collection is here.

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white male just pulled in,

in a car parked over by the truck. and he is walking in the front door now. >> it's after midnight and the polk county sheriff's police are making their final arrests of the night. >> any i.d. on you? >> 44-year-old timothy poyer is the sixth and final john snagged in tonight's operation. >> what were you looking for? just a bad day, i guess. i was hoping for a good part of the day. >> how much are you willing to pay? >> $100. >> $100? >> yes, sir. >> for what? what were you getting in exchange for $100? >> i guess i don't really know. >> huh? >> i guess i'm not really 100% sure. >> is sex involved in that? >> i don't know that. i'm not sure. >> what do you mean you're not sure? what would the possibility be? >> i suppose that could be one of them. >> although married with children, poyer admits to

police that this is not his first time buying sex. >> is this protected or unprotected sex. >> protected. >> did you bring protection with you? >> i do not, no. >> you don't know or you do not -- >> i do not. no, do not. >> what were you going to do if she didn't have any? >> then i wasn't going to get involved. >> did you do any drugs today? >> no, sir. i was so nervous -- never been in this predicament before. a little nervous and scared right now. >> like most men caught in this compromising position, the john's demeanor is one of shame and contrition. >> i could tell you, i will not find myself sitting here ever again. it is a very embarrassing situation. and i won't find myself in this seat again. >> do you have a daughter? >> i do. >> she the older one? teenager? >> no, the youngest.

>> the youngest. >> well, i'm sure you won't be back here again. >> no ma'am. i will not. >> i don't understand nothing. >> the only exception to that rule tonight, is 40-year-old ishmael. >> all i know is i'm here, and i'm getting arrested, and getting to read my right. >> okay. you don't know why you're here? >> i'm going to read my right. i'm not going -- there is not wrongs, there is nothing -- i'm just -- you know -- >> although police have him on the phone making a deal for sex with a female under cover, this native of morocco insists he has done nothing wrong. >> you took your phone, you dialed a number. >> okay. >> you made a date with a girl to buy sex. >> no. >> oh, what were you doing then? >> no. >> what were you doing then, if you wernlt weren't dialing the number and calling undercover officer to have sex, then what were you doing? >> no, no, no. >> you're smart man.

>> i'm a smart man. >> are you educated? you seem educated. >> nothing about nothing. there is nothing about sex that was discussed with anybody. >> then why are you here? were you grocery shopping? >> no. >> so everybody jumped out and got you for nothing? because you did nothing? >> yes. >> what is your excuse for being here? >> i have no -- what is my excuse for this. >> who dialed your phone? who made the date? who did i hear on the phone call? why do you think these guys are here? >> i don't know. >> we're going to have to take a group and get them out of here. we're just going to grab their paperwork, property, have a van pull up the side door and walk them downstairs to the van and have them load it in the van. >> this is a successful night. so far, so good, yes. we have operations where we've gotten in four or five days, 30, 40. one where we had got 89. it just depends. so yeah, this is about, unfortunately, it is starting to

be the norm. and we've had several that, as soon as they find out what county this is, they say, we're not coming to polk county. they know not to come here. but there is still a ton of them that obviously do. >> do you know what county this is? >> what county is it? >> polk county. >> oh -- >> do you know about polk county? >> heard about it. >> they are very serious. >> they don't have to worry about me coming back, i'll tell you that. >> first thing that happens is they are going to go to jail. next thing is going to happen is they are going to read about themselves in the paper of widest circulation in the county. then they are going to get to come to depositions or hearings or motions repeatedly at the courthouse. life is miserable. life is miserable for using bad judgment in polk county. >> all i saw tonight were little

girls with not just one horrifying stories, all of the stories were horrifying. one girl, jacqueline, her mother sold her to a pimp for drugs at 15. another girl had been incested since the age of 9, got molested. her mother didn't believe her. >> this is sad. to me, a sad comment on society nowadays. it seems like the family system has broken down. and we see a lot more of this. a lot of people look at prostitution as a victimless crime. it's not. >> anyone who thinks that is involved in archaic thinking. aside from the fact that it is a public health problem, aside from the fact that it is morally corrupt, the reality is, these girls aren't choosing to do this on their own. they are scared. they don't have any place to go. they don't know where their next meal's coming from. but for the grace of god, that

could be my daughter. and why haven't we stood up together, united and said, no more. we wear them out. >> tonight's operation is just the first round of a four-day sting that will ultimately net 90 individuals, including 12 pimps, juvenile, and youth minister who came looking for sex from a 14-year-old girl. >> it is scary. if you are naive enough to think it is just here, you're wrong. we dig it out here. so it is what kind of community do you want. what kind of community do you want to live in? do you want to raise your children in? but here's my warning and it's not new. if you come here to violate the law, we're going to put you in jail. and if we don't get you this time, we'll catch you next time .

go ahead, go ahead, go ahead. >> in the suburbs of orlando, florida, and across america, the business of sex for sale is ruining young lives. >> i've heard a lot of people say that prostitution is a victimless crime. but it's not a victimless crime. if it was your daughter there, you would not be saying it's a victimless crime. >> reporter: girls and young women trapped in despair and degradation. >> this is not some consenting adult having sex with another consenting adult for compensation. she's property. she's property to be bartered with, to be sold.