Bentonville is a city of approximately 36,000 residents, located in Benton County in northwest Arkansas. It is best known for being the corporate home of Walmart. As the current hub of its operations, the city hosts a large number of businessmen and contract workers traveling to and from Walmart headquarters. Consequently, residents have noted an increase in (and growing demand for) commercial sex in and around Bentonville’s hotels.  Local police note that online solicitation is the dominant method of arranging transaction in the city.  In response, the Bentonville Police Department has implemented a series of demand-focused tactics to identify sex buyers. Officers routinely conduct street-level reverse stings and web stings to apprehend “johns”. Police have also set up phone lines and websites for decoy “escort agencies,” and frequently screen websites (e.g., initially Craigslist and Backpage.com, now other sites) known to be used for solicitation of prostitution. To deter sex buyers, the BPD also releases the names and photos of arrestees to the media.

Loss of employment is another consequence of buying sex that has occurred in the city.  For example, in December, 2010, a man arrested in a prostitution and solicitation sting resigned from a job he had recently started as senior pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Bentonville. The man was cited for sexual solicitation and loitering, both misdemeanors. He and six others were caught in a sting operation at a Bentonville hotel, according to a news release from the Bentonville Police Department.