Ramapo is a city of approximately 147,000 residents in Rockland County, New York, located roughly 20 miles north of Manhattan, New York City. Prostitution and sex trafficking rings are known to operate in the city and other areas of Rockland County and generate a wide range of problems. In their efforts to reduce prostitution in the area, local law enforcement agencies have collaborated to conduct reverse stings to reduce consumer-level demand, which provides revenue for sex trafficking and exploitation.

Some local arrests of sex buyers are the result of allegations of crimes against real victims rather than the product of reverse stings using undercover police decoys. For example, in 2010, former New York Giants player Lawrence Taylor was arrested and charged with raping a 16-year-old girl at a Rockland County hotel. He was taken into custody by Town of Ramapo Police and charged with third-degree rape of a person under 17 and patronizing a prostitute.

The Rockland County Sheriff’s Office has collaborated with the Ramapo Police Department to conduct reverse stings. In June 2018, six people were arrested during an investigation into prostitution in Ramapo, on Sherwood Avenue in the Spring Valley section. One man was arrested and charged with patronizing a prostitute. Ramapo Police were assisted by the Village of Spring Valley Police, the Rockland County Intelligence Center, and the Department of Homeland Security.