Huntington is a town of approximately 200,000 residents, located on the north shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. The town includes the hamlet of Huntington Station. Prostitution has been a persistent problem in the town for decades. For instance, several massage parlors in Huntington have been investigated for illicit sexual activity over the years in response to community complaints, leading to charges against women for prostitution.

In an effort to identify and apprehend sex buyers in Huntingon, the Suffolk County Police Department has conducted at least one street-level reverse sting in the town. The operation, undertaken in August 1998, utilized an undercover female officer, who posed as a decoy. As a result, six men were arrested and charged with solicitation. Their identities were not made available to the public.

In October 2020, a well-known Suffolk County doctor and legislator was arrested in Huntington for allegedly attempting to exchange oxycodone for sex with someone he believed was a woman in prostitution. He had been contacted by an undercover police officer posing as a prostituted woman and agreed via text message to provide the undercover officer with oxycodone pills. The man was arrested when he showed up at the arranged meeting location and was found in possession of oxycodone pills. He was charged with several offenses, including patronizing a person for prostitution, attempted patronizing a person for prostitution, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal sale of a controlled substance, tampering with public records, falsifying business records, and perjury. His name, age, and hometown were released to the press. Further investigation revealed the man had allegedly paid multiple women in cash or drugs for sex acts over the course of several years, which was corroborated by text messages and other evidence. The man pleaded not guilty to the charges in November 2021. As a result of the investigation, officials reported that the man’s privileges at Huntington Hospital had been temporarily suspended, including the suspension of his medical license during the length of the case, and that he no longer served as the Chief of Otolaryngology.