Macomb is a city of almost 18,000 residents and is the county seat of McDonough County, located in western Illinois about 75 miles southwest of Peoria. Issues related to the sex trade have been documented in the city and greater county area. For example, in 2014 a strip club opened just outside Macomb, resulting in complaints to the police. There has also been at least one case of child sex trafficking in the area.

Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, in November 2019, Macomb Police arrested two people for prostitution-related offenses after a man filed a police report claiming he was being extorted by a woman he’d had sexual relations with. The man allegedly paid the woman $1,000 to prevent her from informing his wife of their affair. The man filed the police report after she demanded more money, but further investigation revealed the man had hired her as a prostituted person from an unknown online website. The man was charged with solicitation of a sexual act and patronizing a prostitute, while the woman was charged with prostitution, intimidation, and theft. The sex buyer’s name, age, and hometown were released to the press.