The Bloomington Police Chief shared more information about over a dozen men who were arrested in the latest sex trafficking sting in the city.

Authorities arrested 14 men, including now-former state Sen. Justin Eichorn. Each of them is accused of trying to meet up with a minor for sex.

RELATED: Sen. Justin Eichorn faces federal charge for allegedly soliciting minor, expulsion from Senate

The police chief said in a Friday press conference he’s been in talks with federal prosecutors to charge some of the criminals.

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges called the sex trafficking sting operation, “I can’t help myself.”

Court documents say authorities set up online prostitution ads on a website. Undercover officers lied about their age in the ads. When people responded, the officers revealed they were actually underage 17-year-old girls.

“We’re going to do what we need to do to mitigate people getting victimized,” Hodges said.

Hodges said catching the criminals is just the first step.

“Two is to provide services to those who are being sex trafficked,” Hodges said.

The police chief said three people in the operation who were trafficked accepted those services.

“We have to remember is that there’s a very real fear of being harmed by those who are trafficking them,” Nicole Matthews, Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition executive director, said. “So to accept services or to maybe tell on the person that was trafficking them, that puts their lives in danger.”

According to Hodges, Bloomington has at least 10,000 hotel rooms, which is more than any city in the state. If you combine that with the 494 corridor and the airport, authorities call it a magnet for the crime. 

Matthews said it’s an unfortunate reality that those doing the trafficking often walk away with a slap on the wrist.

“Oftentimes the women who are being trafficked are the ones that are that are prosecuted and end up in jail,” she said.

The police chief said at least three of the men who were arrested were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He also said one person was on a student visa.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to ICE for more information on what’s next for those detained. The agency referred us to the U.S. Attorney’s office, who declined to comment.

As for the other criminals, police say all but one of them have been released from jail.