Fort Valley is a city in the Macon metropolitan area of Georgia. It has a population of fewer than 10,000 and serves as the government seat of Peach County. A wide range of problems and ancillary crimes associated with prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented in the city and generate complaints to police from residents and businesses. In May 2018, allegations surfaced about a prostitution ring based at Fort Valley State University, allegedly involving a sorority, school administrators, and politicians. A graduate adviser for the Alpha Beta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., at Fort Valley State University resigned after law enforcement and school officials launched an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct allegations; these included accusations that she forced new inductees to pledge that they would have sex for money with local politicians and businessmen to cover costly induction fees. She also allegedly took scholarship money that was awarded to a student.

In October 2018, seven people (including two former employees of Fort Valley State University) were arrested and charged with various sex crimes (pandering and solicitation of sodomy) after an extended investigation into illegal conduct at the university occurring in 2017 and 2018. Four of the six men were customers of a campus-based prostitution ring. Later, a woman was arrested in conjunction with the prostitution ring; she was charged with six counts of pimping and financial crimes. The men’s identities were publicly released, and each was charged with pandering and soliciting sodomy. All but one of the men turned themselves in, according to Peach County Sheriff’s Office officials. One of the men was a suspect in a prior case of child rape, having been accused of assaulting a minor at a youth facility in Taylor County. At the time, the teen, who was in foster care, was assigned to the state-contracted facility by the Division of Family and Children Services, and the suspect served as a human services professional. In November 2019, it was announced that at least two of the six men had reached agreements with prosecutors for a pre-trial diversion as first-time offenders, which involved completing 25 hours of community service, attending a class about the dangers of prostitution and paying a fine of between $250 and $1,000. Prosecutors dropped charges after completion of program requirements. No other details were reported about the location or content of the classes.

While the arrests of the sex buyers in Fort Valley were not the result of traditional reverse stings, there was a proactive investigation to identify and apprehend those who solicited sex, so we have categorized it as a reverse sting for the purposes of this website.