Petoskey is a coastal resort community in northern Michigan. The population is approximately 6,000, and it is the county seat of Emmet County. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated 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. To combat prostitution and sex trafficking in the area, local law enforcement agencies have targeted consumer-level demand, which provides the revenue stream driving all prostitution and trafficking.

For example, in 2018, the Michigan State Police, multi-jurisdictional task force teams, sheriff’s offices, and city police departments collaborated to conduct enforcement operations across 19 counties in northern Michigan aimed at arresting individuals using the Internet to purchase sex. Between February and June, thirty-five arrests were made in seven counties during nine enforcement initiatives. Seventy criminal counts were evenly split between charges for solicitation for prostitution and using a computer to commit a crime. The photos and identities of the arrested men were included in news releases. Petoskey was one of the locations in which the web-based reverse stings were conducted, resulting in the arrest of four men in June 2018. Other cities included in the large-scale collaboration were Traverse City, Alpena, Lewiston, Cadillac, Gaylord, and Houghton Lake.