Ohio child sex trafficking sting snares more than 100

Mug shots of some of the suspects arrested by police in the operation.

More than 100 people, including a medical doctor and a church youth director, were arrested as part of a child sex trafficking sting operation in central Ohio.

The operation, dubbed "Fourth and Goal" included 24 men caught when they showed up at an undisclosed location with the intention of meeting a child for sex, the Daily Mail reported.

"They show up with sex toys, they show up with lubrication," Major Steven Tucker of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office told Fox News.

"They show up with things that clearly somebody isn't going to show up to a house with, unless they intend to engage in sexual activity."

The men face felony charges of importuning and attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

Local, state and federal authorities communicated with suspects in online chatrooms, who then went looking to hire children who they thought were being peddled for prostitution.

Among the 104 suspects were a former youth director at a church, Christian Gibson, 26, and an emergency room doctor, Austin Kosier, 31, who has since been suspended.

Dozens of suspects were charged with "solicitation" over the three-day operation, which ended on September 13.

Instead of finding the children, the men ran into armed authorities who took them into custody. In some cases, female investigators posed as live decoys.

"I'm helping put bad guys away," one of the undercover officers told NBC 4 in Columbus. "I'm 27, and I pose as a 14-year-old or 15-year-old."

Another female officer posed as a young boy, to reassure the suspects they were not being set up.

"This operation demonstrates the varying dynamics of sex trafficking in our community," said Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force Director Sergeant Mark Rapp.