Gaston County, North Carolina has a population of approximately 222,000, and its county seat is the city of Gastonia, (with  approximately 72,000 residents). It is located in the western suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the county, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking, and related crimes. Among the problems associated with prostitution within the county have been cases of sex buyers being robbed.

County agencies, particularly prosecutors, have supported demand reduction enforcement action occurring in multiple communities.  For example, the Belmont Police Department has conducted street-level reverse sting. One operation was conducted in October 1998, and resulted in the arrest of multiple sex buyers. The Gastonia Police Department conducted a series of large-scale street-level reverse stings in the late 1980s. One early operation, conducted in April 1988, resulted in the arrest of 70 male sex buyers. The men were arrested after they attempted to solicit sex from an undercover female officer; to ensure the officer’s safety and document the solicitation that occurred, a backup team monitored all of the decoy’s interactions using remote video surveillance. In May, 2019 four male sex buyers were arrested in a prostitution sting in Gastonia, with officers from the Shelby Police  Department assisting deputies with the Gaston County Police Department. The men faced misdemeanor charges of soliciting prostitution, and were booked into Gaston County Jail under a $1,000 bond. In February, 2021 an undercover operation led to nearly a dozen prostitution cases in Gaston County.  The operation took place from early in the afternoon to the evening hours on Remount Road. Records show that there are eight reports of prostitution. The sting happened on the 1800 and 1700 block of Remount Road. There are five hotels on this stretch, and restaurants and other businesses, and a parking lot where truckers come to rest. The reports stated that multiple people solicited an undercover officer for prostitution services, indicating that the male sex buyers were the targets.

In December, 2022, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper in Gaston County resigned following his arrest on charges of “patronizing and soliciting a prostitute” and crimes against nature. The case stemmed from an incident at a budget hotel on Westpark Drive in Charlotte, NC.