Amsterdam is a city of about 18,000 residents in eastern New York, located in Montgomery County almost 40 miles northwest of Albany. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented in the city and surrounding areas. For example, in July 2018, two people were pulled over and arrested in Amsterdam in connection with the sex trafficking of a 19-year-old woman. Police were investigating a report of a woman being assaulted near railroad tracks with a red SUV nearby. Both arrestees were charged with felony sex trafficking and one with misdemeanor assault. In October 2021, a local man was arrested after attempting to meet an 11-year-old for sex and sending sexual messages and pornographic videos via social media to what he thought was a minor. He was also in possession of child sexual abuse materials (i.e., child pornography).

Identity disclosure and loss of employment are consequence of buying sex that have occurred within the city. For example, in August 2018, a Fourth Ward Alderman resigned from the city Common Council after he was arrested by New York State Police and charged with misdemeanor third-degree patronizing a prostitute. His letter of resignation was read by the City Clerk to start the Common Council meeting. The man had been accused of hiring a woman from the city of Amsterdam to engage in sexual conduct that included nudity, fondling, and his punching her in the stomach on multiple occasions. The charge against him centered around an alleged encounter with the woman in June 2018.