Apache County is a county of almost 72,000 residents in the northeast corner of Arizona, shaped like a long rectangle running north to south. The county seat is St. Johns, AZ. Child sex trafficking, including the production of child sexual abuse materials (i.e., child pornography), has been documented in multiple locations within the county. In 2021, it was announced that the Apache County Department of Juvenile Probation was in the early stages of developing policy and response for the use of a sex trafficking screening instrument.

Sex buyers have been arrested within the county, and their identities disclosed. For example, in in June 2010, police arrested a St. Johns man on charges of “child prostitution” (i.e., child sex trafficking), sexual abuse, and other offenses. In April 2019, a man was arrested and charged with two counts of child prostitution, sexually exploiting a minor by means of photographing or recording during sexual conduct, and having sex with a minor. These acts allegedly took place in July 2017, at a Springerville hotel and involved teenage girls who were between the ages of 15 and 17. The man pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors filed charges against him in September 2018, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was eventually found near San Francisco, CA after a manhunt spanning multiple states and was extradited to Apache County, where his case was tried in the Apache County Superior Court. The man’s identity was released to the press.