Haywood County is located in the western region of Tennessee. Its population is about 18,000 and its county seat and largest city is Brownsville. Prostitution activity has been well-documented throughout the county and has generated complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local prostitution market are sex trafficking, child endangerment, and violence committed against people involved in these transactions.

Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies in their strategy for prevention and response. For example, in January 2013, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation arrested a former Haywood County Sheriff‘s deputy after he was indicted by a Haywood County grand jury following a TBI investigation. The resident of Brownsville, TN was indicted on two counts of official misconduct and one count of patronizing prostitution. The 28th Judicial District Attorney General‘s Office requested TBI to start an investigation in November 2012 that revealed the man purchased sex with a female subject numerous times, and knew she had warrants on file for her arrest and did not perform his duties as a police officer to take her into custody. The investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Haywood County Sheriff‘s Department. The man was booked into the Haywood County Jail and released on a $10,000 bond, and was fired by the Haywood County Sheriff’s Department after he was charged for the crime.

In December 2017, an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services resulted in the arrest of a Haywood County man on multiple sex offenses involving a child. The Grand Jury returned an indictment charging the man with Rape of a Child, Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, two (2) counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by Electronic Means, Sexual Exploitation of Minor Images, and Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child. He was arrested and booked into Haywood County Jail on a $500,000 bond.