Spokane Valley is a city in Spokane County, Washington, located east of Spokane, and west of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It is the largest suburb of Spokane with a population of approximately 106,000 residents. The community incorporated as the City of Spokane Valley on March 31, 2003. Instances of prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented in the city and surrounding areas. This activity and tis ancillary crimes has generated complaints to local law enforcement from residents and businesses. For example, in 2019, Spokane police discovered a 20-year-old sex trafficking victim during a web-based reverse sting operation. According to reports, the victim had met a Spokane Valley couple under the pretext of posing for modeling photos. Upon meeting the two suspects, they kidnapped the woman for purposes of sex trafficking. The victim reportedly told police that in addition to being sex trafficked by the two suspects, they drugged, raped, and beat her on numerous occasions. She was rescued by Spokane police as the result of a web-based reverse sting operation. As a result of the investigation they were arrested and charged with human trafficking and related offenses.

In their efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex, the Spokane Valley Police Department has arrested and disclosed the identities of sex buyers through investigations or as the result of residential complaints to local law enforcement. For example, in 2017, a 46-year-old man was arrested by Spokane Valley Sexual Assault Detectives for allegedly kidnapping and raping a prostituted woman. According to reports, the suspect, armed with a handgun, had kidnapped and raped the woman after she accepting a ride from him. The victim told police that the suspect drove them to Valley Mission Park, near the A-frame wooden structure, and they both got out of the vehicle. The suspect told the victim he wasn’t paying her and retrieved a semi-auto pistol from his vehicle and pointed at her. He continued to threaten her with the handgun until she agreed to engage in oral sex acts with the suspect before he fled in his vehicle. Police used cellphone and auto records to locate the suspect. He was arrested and charged with Kidnapping-1st Degree and Rape-1st Degree. The offender’s identity and image were included in reports by local media outlets. In November 2018, the offender was found guilty of first degree rape with special verdict of firearms enhancement and was sentenced to 14 years up to life in prison. If he is released from prison after serving his sentence, he will be subject to lifetime Washington State Department of Corrections supervision and sex offender registration.