Seven men were arrested in September as part of a sex trafficking operation involving undercover Renton police officers posing as 14- and 15-year-olds.

On Dec. 11, the Renton Police Department released information on the arrests, including a video where Det. Meg Braun described details of the operation, accompanied by photo evidence and body cam footage of several men being arrested in a hotel.

“The goal of this operation was to arrest men who are trying to purchase sex from a minor,” said Braun.

Some information was given of the seven men who were arrested on Sept. 26 and Sept. 27. One man was Alexander Diaz Rio, a former vice principal in the Seattle School District, who was arrested for soliciting prostitution with a 15-year-old boy. An Oregon man, who had a gun and methamphetamine in his possession, was arrested for attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

Jospeh Haufle, 42, was charged with attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor, attempted rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. According to the video, he had previously been convicted of rape of a child along with another rape conviction.

In the video, Detective Braun said that the amount of money from the men who were attempting to purchase sex from minors ranged from $100 to $300, with one man attempting to pay $75 plus methamphetamine.

“It is extremely dangerous,” said Braun. “The rate of death for kids that are involved in sex trafficking is 27% higher than the regular population and the life expectancy for somebody engaged in commercial sex is only seven years.”

According to detectives, an estimated 300 children are trafficked in King County at any given time.

“This isn’t a victimless crime. There are real consequences and it’s our job as the police and community to protect our children,” she said.