Daleville is a city in Dale County, Alabama, with a population of about 5,100. It is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well documented problems locally for years. Among the harms of the local sex trade have been cases of sex trafficking of children and a wide range of related crimes, such as possession and use of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM, referred to in state criminal codes as “child pornography) and child endangerment.  For example, in November, 2014, the Daleville Police Department a case of alleged “child prostitution” and sexual abuse. A Daleville man was accused of promoting the prostitution of a 12-year-old and sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl. Additional charges were investigated as five more possible victims came forward. The 54 year old suspect was arrested and charged with electronic solicitation, promoting prostitution and sexual abuse. Daleville police said they received an anonymous tip that the man was trying to sex traffic the 12-year-old. Investigators said text messages sent from the man’s phone reveal he tried to convince the 12-year-old to have sex with men for money. He was also accused of sexually abusing a second girl at his home, and while awaiting trial on on those charges was arrested and faced nine additional felonies, with ten counts of possessing CSAM. The charges stem from a search warrant executed at his home and was related to earlier arrests. Child sexual abuse images were found on the man’s computer by forensics experts. The man was eventually convicted and sentenced to 3 years in prison and 7 years of probation.

In response to complaints from the community, Daleville investigators conducted a sting operation targeting sex buyers in 2016. All fifteen men responded to a popular website advertising sex for money and made contact with the undercover decoys. The suspects arrived in Daleville according to their agreements with undercover officers and pursued having a sexual encounter with a prostituted woman. They contacted police decoys, made known what type of sexual encounter they wanted and agreed to a price to be paid. All were taken to the Daleville City Jail and released on $1,000 bond. After being arrested all bonded out and were given a municipal court date.  All arrested suspects had their vehicles towed by local towing services, and all had their names, ages, and home towns listed in news reports. In press announcements about the operations, Daleville Department of Public Safety Chief Harvey Mathis said:

“Law enforcement around the country has been very successful in reducing prostitution by focusing attention on sex buyers, often called ‘johns.” Those who solicit sex for money are the ones that fuel the sex industry. It was our intent in arresting them in our sting operation to curb the demand for prostitution. We are joining law enforcement agencies around the country conducting similar operations hoping to strangle the sex industry, and help curb human trafficking.”