GIRARD, Ohio - A judge is deciding if he’ll need to issue arrest warrants for seven men who didn’t show up for Tuesday’s hearings in Girard Municipal Court to answer allegations that they used the internet to solicit sex.

Hearings were scheduled at 9 a.m. for fourteen men arrested Sunday in Liberty Township as part of a single-day sting operation aimed at stopping the sale of sex on the internet.

Liberty police led the investigation with the assistance of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force and the Attorney General's Organized Crime Investigations Commission.

Each of the men is charged with soliciting and possessing criminal tools, both misdemeanors.

Appearing in court on Tuesday: Thomas Hendricks, 66, Salem; Ryan Kirkpatrick, 26, Leesburg, Va.; Willie Daniels Jr., 37, Youngstown; and Omar Farooq, 37, Hermitage, PA.

Waiving arraignment and not appearing in court: Matthew Lennington, 28, Cortland; Nick Mymo, 37, Niles; and Brian O'Nora, 57, Austintown who is a Major League Baseball umpire.

O'Nora has been working for the MLB since 1999. According to the MLB website, he recently worked the All-Star Game in Cleveland in 2019.

All seven men who appeared in court entered pleas of not guilty. 

Bond was set at $5,000 for each and the next court hearings were scheduled for March 3.

Failing to appear: Saad Elamin, 43, Campbell; Harry Krause, 63, Youngstown; James Lohmier, 38, Boardman; David Shaffer, 46, Mineral Ridge; William Shaw Sr., 58, Moyock, NC; Brian Van Divner, 54, New Franklin; and Johnny Young, 55, Youngstown.