POLK COUNTY, Fla. -- Polk County deputies and state investigators arrested 22 men for allegedly using the Internet to solicit sex with children. Among those arrested in the undercover sting were a youth hockey coach and a former Marion County deputy.

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MUG SHOT SLIDESHOW: 22 Men Arrested In Sex Sting

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Polk County deputies and state investigators set up shop at a house, went online and pretended to be children. More than 20 men thought they were going to meet kids for sex, but instead they met up with deputies.

The sting was called "Operation Guardian." Polk County investigators, pretending to be girls between the ages of 13 and 15, began a series of online chats with numerous men. With surveillance cameras rolling, deputies watched as suspect after suspect arrived, thinking they were going to have sex with children.

"They lie to us. They tell us such stories, like they came to take the child out to explain how dangerous this is. We all know that isn't true," said Sheriff Grady Judd of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Among the men arrested were 22-year-old Nathan Galbraith, a youth hockey coach from Orlando, 42-year-old David Ronan, a former volunteer Osceola County firefighter, and 51-year-old Joseph Cioffi, a Department of Homeland Security employee at Orlando International Airport who used to be a Marion County deputy.

Deputies also arrested 59-year-old Arthur Auld, of The Villages. He's a registered sex offender in Ohio and told investigators he was about to go a mission trip with kids from the Eagle's Nest Baptist Church in Fruitland Park.

"This is shocking. It absolutely is frightening that the people we trust to keep our children safe are violating the law," Judd said.

The sting was the third such operation in Polk County and deputies said the numbers of arrests are increasing. Despite heavy media coverage, these operations are yielding more and more suspects looking to take advantage of children.

"We are going to continue these operations. We will lock these predators up in jail and we mean for them to go to prison for a long time," Judd added.

Deputies also arrested a man who rented strollers at Universal Studios. One man even paid $75 to travel from the Rosen Plaza to Polk County to meet with a child. Among other things, all of the suspects face charges for soliciting a minor via the Internet and attempted lewd battery.