Ennis is a city in Northeastern Texas in Ellis County, TX, located about 35 miles south of Dallas. The city has a population of roughly 20,000 residents and is the third largest city in Ellis County. Prostitution and sex trafficking are not known to be significant issues within the city but reports of their activity have been documented. For example, in 2011, an 82-year-old man was arrested for soliciting prostitution in the city. According to reports, the sex buyer offered to pay a woman walking down the street money in exchange for sex. The victim reported the incident to officials, whereupon the sex buyer was arrested, booked on a $1,000 bond, and transported to the Wayne McCollum Detention Center (Ellis County Sheriff’s Office). The offender’s identity, age, location, and charge were released to local news sources.

Loss of employment is also a consequence of buying sex in the city. For example, in the fall of 2011, an Ennis High School teacher was arrested on multiple charges of online sexual solicitation of a minor as a result of an investigation by local police. According to reports, the investigation was a result of reports from a concerned parent that the teacher was sexually solicitating his students. The former Agricultural Sciences teacher allegedly communicated with over 20 students about sending him sexually explicit pictures. The investigation began after a fellow teacher, parent, and friend of the offender reported overhearing students saying that the former teacher had asked them for inappropriate photos to the school district. After the investigation conducted by the Ennis Police Department, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ennis Independent School District confirmed allegations against the former teacher to be true, the offender was arrested and eventually resigned from his teaching position. In 2013, the offender plead guilty to charges of charges of online solicitation of a minor; improper relationship between educator and student; and sexual performance of a child, and was sentenced to five concurrent five-year prison terms at the Ellis County Jail.