8 men arrested, accused of soliciting sex from teen in Hanford

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Eight South Valley men are in custody following an undercover police operation where investigators say the suspects reached out to who they believed was a teenager for sex.

Hanford police detectives and investigators with the Kings County District Attorney's Office arrested 22-year-old Luis Galvan of Hanford, 34-year-old Juan Villegas-Ramirez of Visalia, 30-year-old Rosendo Bedolla of Tulare, 36-year-old Luis Torres- Suarez of Tulare, 26-year-old Clinton Alston of Lemoore, 20-year-old Luis Mondragon of Tulare, 20-year-old David DeLaPaz of Hanford and 46-year-old Pablos Benitez-Frias of Visalia during the two-day operation.

Investigators say detectives posing as a teenager were contacted by the eight men who solicited sexual acts.

Police say the men believed the teen was as young as 13 and as old as 16.

The men agreed to meet for sex at different places in Hanford. Once they arrived, undercover officers were waiting to take them into custody.

All eight men have been booked into the Kings County Jail on several charges.