COEUR d'ALENE — Four North Idaho men were among 13 arrested during a child-sex sting operation last week in Spokane County.

The sting, a multi-agency effort led by the Washington State Patrol, lasted five days. According to a news release, targeted individuals responded to online advertisements, expressing their interest in having sex with children between the ages of 6 and 13. WSP Lt. Mike Eggelston told The Press a series of ads was posted on Craigslist by law enforcement officers acting undercover, and those ads yielded hundreds of responses.

"The ads posted are not unique. These ads exist every single day," Eggelston said. "We are not going above and beyond (with the language of the ads) what's already posted. They then express what they want to do to our 'undercover children.'"

Eggelston added that media reports in Spokane have led to online commenters

alleging the sting operation is entrapment. However, Eggelston said all of the individuals who were arrested willingly went to the location set up by undercover officers.

"These people are coming to have sex with kids," he said. "They think the kids are real. Period."

According to Eggelston, the following North Idaho men were arrested during the sting:

1.) Mechel Frederick, 26, Post Falls

• Charged in Spokane County Superior Court with one felony count of first-degree attempted child rape.

• Being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $30,000 bond.

2.) Eduardo Populus, 56, Post Falls

• Charged in Spokane County Superior Court with one felony count of first-degree attempted child rape.

• Being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

3.) Thomas Bramblee, 29, Spirit Lake

• Charged in Spokane County Superior Court with one felony count of second-degree attempted child rape.

• Being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

4.) Robert Dahms, 50, Post Falls

• Charged in Spokane County Superior Court with one felony count of first-degree attempted child rape.

• Being held in the Spokane County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Of the four individuals arrested, Dahms is the only one with a criminal history of sex crimes. According to the Idaho Repository, Dahms has been charged five times since 2004 with failure to register as a sex offender.

Dahms' most recent failure to register occurred Sept. 1, 2015, and he is scheduled to be sentenced for the crime this month in Kootenai County District Court.