Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. With 89,000 people, Palm Coast is the 33rd most populated city in Florida. It is also the most populous city in Flagler County. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city, surrounding communities, and other areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses.

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 December 2017, Flagler County sheriff’s deputies arrested and charged 12 men with soliciting prostitution as part of a three-day undercover sting dubbed “Operation Red Light to Green Roof.” Investigators began targeting escorts after receiving complaints about local prostitution ads on Backpage.com. On the first day, deputies posed as customers and attempted to set up meetings with the sex workers who posted ads on the site. This was ineffective because all the escorts were based in Volusia County and weren’t willing to travel to Flagler. On the second day, the sting shifted and began focusing on the sex buyers. Investigators posted ads on Backpage and other sites; they used an undercover deputy to pose as the prostitute. That strategy led to more than 100 calls and texts from men asking to meet the decoy in her hotel room in Palm Coast. Twelve men appeared and took steps to exchange money for sex. Once they had incriminated themselves, they were arrested. The men’s photos, names, and other identifiers were publicly released.