Seven men were arrested Friday night and charged with pandering for prostitution.

Lt. Steve Hyman at the Tifton Police Department said due to the continuous complaints about prostitutes walking up and down Highway 82 and working the truck stops, officers from the TPD, Tift County Sheriff’s Office and Crisp County Sheriff’s Office worked together to pick up “johns” pandering for prostitution.

“The focus of this sting was males and truck drivers who ride the area looking for these girls,” Hyman stated. “We want to discourage them from pandering for prostitutes and show them that picking up prostitutes is against the law.”

Recently, the TPD conducted a prostitution sting and arrested several women for prostitution. Hyman explained that during the pandering sting from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., undercover female officers were approached by men and were offered money for sex. He advised that the three law enforcement agencies were involved in order to ensure the safety of the women.

Officers made seven arrests in the area of the Highway 82 truck stop and around Ridge Avenue as a result of the operation, Hyman said. The following men were charged with pandering: Domingo Espiroza, 40, of Nicholls; Edgar Estrada, 17, of Tifton; Alexander Gomez, 23, of Immokalee, Fla.; David Sanford Hutto, 61, of Cordele; Lorenzo Mendoza, 25, of Tifton; Michael Scott Roberson, 21, of Tifton; and Carmelo Soto, 47, of Douglas.

Officer Shane Benefield stated that officers did a good job at slowing down prostitution with the recent prostitution sting, but they saw that it was just as important to slow down the “Johns” pandering for prostitution and who are also supporting the women’s drug habits.

To contact reporter Latasha Everson, call 382-4321.