Marquette is a city of approximately 21,000 residents that serves as the government seat of Marquette County. It is located in the Upper Peninsula in northern Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented in the city and surrounding area, including instances of drugs being traded for sex. There has also been an incident in which a sex buyer was arrested on charges of aggravated stalking of a minor and assault with a dangerous weapon, as well as separate charges of prostitution/pandering and aggravated indecent exposure. The problems associated with the local commercial sex market led to the formation of the Upper Peninsula Human Trafficking Task Force to combat and prevent human trafficking.

Web-based reverse stings have been used to combat demand in the city. In February 2020, a man was arrested in connection with an investigation involving solicitation of prostitution in exchange for crystal meth. Detectives from the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team (UPSET) said the man responded to a social media posting saying he was interested in selling crystal meth in exchange for sex, after which a meeting was arranged in Marquette, where the man was arrested. The man was charged with possession with intent to deliver – crystal methamphetamine, using a computer to commit a felony, and solicitation to commit prostitution. He also had a criminal bench warrant held by the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office for failure to report to jail or pay fines on a previous charge of operating while impaired. His name, age, and hometown were released to the press.

In March 2021, the Marquette County Prosecutor’s Office announced the completion of a sting operation to combat child sex trafficking. The joint undercover operation involved the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office, Marquette Police Department, Michigan State Police, UPSET, and Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. The Genesee County Sheriff gave upper Michigan law enforcement, the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team the “GHOST playbook” upon request to help plan the operation. “Operation Northern Exposure” resulted in the arrest of five men between the ages of 32 and 64 who intended to abuse an underage girl sexually. They had daughters between the ages of 12 and 15. Each man was charged with child sexual abusive activity, use of a computer to commit child sexual abuse activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and use of a computer to commit accosting a child for immoral purposes. Their names and other identifying information were released to the press.