Atlantic Beach, with a population of about 13,000 residents, is located on the Atlantic coast in Duval County near Jacksonville, Florida. Prostitution has long been the subject of complaints by the community for decades. In a recent example, an investigation into prostitution allegations was conducted after neighboring business owners and employees complained to police about suspicious activity, resulting in the arrest of the brothel owner and an employee.  Residents noticed only men entering and exiting the business, and female customers were turned away and asked nearby businesses about it. In addition to prostitution, child sex trafficking has also been documented in the city, including the presence of registered sex offenders convicted of enticing children under 16 years of age into prostitution (i.e., sex trafficking of minors). The city has tried various methods of curbing prostitution, including passing and enforcing ordinances intended to dissuade the use of storefront businesses as brothels. The city has also attempted to address demand by conducting reverse stings and publicizing the identities of arrestees. The first known reverse sting occurred there in 1990. Through 2009, police surveyed said that they averaged about one reverse sting per month. In June 2017, a major sting targeting drug activity and prostitution in Atlantic Beach led to 18 arrests; the identities of those arrested were disclosed publicly.