Wyandotte County is an area located in northeast Kansas with a population of roughly 165,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented within the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking. For example, in October, 2016, a man was charged with one count of enticing a person to cross state lines to engage in prostitution. A criminal complaint alleged the case grew out of an undercover operation by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department and the FBI to target individuals who promote prostitution and to recover victims of human trafficking. A wide range of additional crimes associated with the local sex trade have also been documented, including child sex trafficking and prostitution-related homicide, and serial killers who specifically target prostituted women have operated in the county. For example, as of 2021, there was a set of murders of six African-American women who were killed in Kansas City, Kansas decades previously, all of whom had been exploited in prostitution.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, in 2010, a crackdown on underage sex trafficking resulted in two arrests of sex buyers.   The state ran a sting operation using a decoy ad for child prostitution, and two men had traveled to an undisclosed location in western Wyandotte County and were arrested.  Sex buyers arrested in more conventional reverse stings may be sent to the Veronica’s Voice “john school” in Kansas City, although most are not.  Whether they are sentenced to the john school or offered it as a diversion option occurs at the discretion of judges.

Public Education:

In July, 2018, the Kansas Attorney General announced a new awareness campaign in Kansas is aimed at cutting the demand for prostitution as a way to fight human trafficking. The campaign involves state agencies and local advocacy groups teaming up to push the “Demand an End” initiative, which features education and announcements warning people that buyers of sex face charges. The campaign intends to promote a culture where buying sex is not acceptable. It is based on the assumption that the money from sex buyers fuels a marketplace that enables sex trafficking.