Kent County, DE

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Kent County is a county located in central Delaware, and with a population of about 184,000, is the least populous county in the state. The county seat is Dover, the state capital. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been substantial, documented problems in the city for decades.  Most of the policy activity addressing has been within the city, which has conducted reverse stings and publicly disclose the identities of sex buyers. Dover also had  operated a john school at one time, prior to 2010. In Kent County areas outside of Dover, there have been arrests of sex buyers, and public disclosure of their identities.  For example, in September, 2018, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police arrested a Kent County woman for multiple drug-related and prostitution charges and a Kent County man for prostitution-related charges on Port Mahon Road near the Little Creek Wildlife Area outside Dover. The man was charged with one count of “patronizing a prostitute,” and his identity was disclosed in news releases.

Key Partners

  • Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)
    • Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police
  • Dover Police Department
  • Weed and Seed Program

Key Sources

 

Arrest and Shaming of Sex Buyer:

John School:

Reverse Stings with Shaming:

  • “Men Charged for Soliciting Sex,” Delaware State News, July 20 1995.
  • “Men Charged in Sex Solicitations,” Delaware State News, July 21 1995.
  • “Four Arrested in Sting: A Joint Operation between Dover and Newark Police,” Delaware State News, October 23 1996.
  • “Downstate Policing, Downtown Crackdown; Dover Program Gets Results,” Delaware State News, September 17 2002.
  • “Bill Gets Tough on Prostitutes; Steeper Fines, Disclosed Testing Key to Proposal,” Delaware State News, May 27 2006.
  • “Six Arrested in Prostitution Sting at White Oak Park,” Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times, March 12 2010.
  • “Six Arrested in Sting in White Oak Park,” Dover Post, March 12 2010.
  • “Townsend Man Arrested in Prostitution Sting,” Middletown Transcript, March 15 2010.
  • http://www.wboc.com/story/12130991/6-arrested-in-sex-sting-at-dover-park May 2010
  • “Ex-Smyrna Official Charged in Sex Case; Evans to Be Arraigned for Allegedly Patronizing Undercover Prostitute,” Delaware State News, August 31 2010.
  • http://www.wboc.com/story/13054808/dover-prostitution-sting-nabs-3-men August 2010
  • “Police Arrest Man on Charges of Soliciting a Prostitute,” Dover Post, October 26 2011.
  • “Police Jail Man on Charges of Soliciting a Prostitute,” Dover Post, October 29 2011.

Background on Local Sex Trafficking and Prostitution:

 

State Delaware
Type County
Population 184149
Location
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