The NYPD said it busted more than a dozen johns — including a convicted rapist — trying to hire prostitutes in Brooklyn, following a Post exposé on the open-air sex trade plaguing East New York.

In the early morning hours on Aug. 18, cops cuffed and charged 10 pervy patrons looking for sex along Wortman and Alabama avenues as well as Malta Street in East New York, police said.

A week later, seven more men were arrested during a second sting at the same location, cops said.

Among those arrested was Walter Barnes, 53, who in 2014 was charged with impersonating a police officer in order to rape an 18-year-old.

Cops also arrested Walter Barnes, 53, who in 2014 was charged with impersonating a police officer in order to rape an 18-year-old.

Barnes, who is a registered level-3 sex offender, was convicted in 2002 for raping two girls, ages 14 and 17, in addition to choking and hitting the teens, according to state records.

He served at least four years in prison.

Others busted for patronizing prostitutes included:

East New York has seen a resurgence of its raunchy past, with shocking video footage shared online depicting nearly naked streetwalkers prowling for clients in the wee hours along Pennsylvania and Stanley Avenues. 

The “track” has garnered international notoriety thanks to the videos of the illicit sexual activity — which also has culminated in bloody violence, according to a police source.

Over the past two years, there have been at least 11 shootings in the area, at least five of which are the result of the prostitution activity, the source said.  

Cops, however, are taking an “evolved approach” in cracking down on the illicit sex trade: only cuffing pimps and johns, as advocates connect with and help the “very young” women who are being exploited for sex work, the source said. 

“The NYPD is in partnership to provide outreach, offer services, [and] showcase a realistic pathway out of this situation,” the source told The Post.

“These commercially sexually exploited individuals must know of our care and work in this regard — to help them — and that the NYPD has deeply heard the community complaints and concerns regarding this issue.”

Taina Bien-Aimé, executive director at Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, cheered on the police’s buyer-focused approach to addressing prostitution and combating sex trafficking in the Big Apple. 

“This is what we’re calling for if New York wants to prevent and end sex trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution,” she said. “They really need to go after the pillars of that abuse and that is sex buyers.” 

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misidentified one of the men arrested and charged with patronizing sex workers as an adjunct professor at the school, based on information provided by a John Jay College of Criminal Justice spokeswoman. John Jay said it incorrectly identified the man as an employee, and photos and information in the article characterizing the man as an educator at the school have been removed.