Kokomo is a city of about 60,000 residents located north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented problems afflicting Kokomo for decades. For example, in May 2022, police arrested two Kokomo residents who were accused of setting up a meeting with a man through a prostitution website and then beating and robbing him after he arrived. In March 2023, a tip to police and a subsequent investigation led to the discovery of a 14-year-old missing child with a 53-year-old man in his Kokomo home. The man was charged with child sex trafficking, and a forensic examination of his computer led to the discovery of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).

To combat the consumer-level demand that drives all sex trafficking, police have conducted reverse stings, often in response to community complaints. In 2012, the Kokomo Police Department Drug Task Force apprehended six men during a reverse sting occurring in a hotel. The men were arrested and preliminarily charged with patronizing a prostitute, a Class A misdemeanor. All were taken to the Howard County Criminal Justice Center for processing. The names, ages, and photos of the arrestees were released to the media.