Brookfield is a city located in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It has a population of about 38,000. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and throughout the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. For example, in February, 2022, the City of Brookfield Common Council voted to revoke a massage parlor’s business license amid allegations of prostitution. A report from the committee detailed the allegations, including complaints from the City of Brookfield Police Department, finding that the business allowed its massage therapists to perform sex acts in exchange for money on the premises. The report claimed the business operated late at night, keeps its front and rear doors locked during the day, and was listed on websites dedicated to finding and reviewing parlors which provide sex in exchange for money. In 2017, an anonymous person had complained that he had received sexual contact there, and in June 2021, an investigator received several more complaints from neighbors of “suspicious activity.” The committee’s report also documented police investigations into the massage parlor allegations. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking, and there have also been documented prostitution-related assaults with dangerous weapons within Waukesha County. Police have reported that extensive investigations have occurred after information was provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Waukesha County regarding possible prostitution and human trafficking.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. Demand reduction tactics used in the town include web based reverse stings and the disclosure of sex buyer identities.  For example, in April, 2021, a Brookfield man was arrested and faced 10 felony counts of possessing child pornography after prosecutors say an undercover detective caught him attempting to pay to sexually abuse a child. Detectives also found thousands of images and videos of violent child sexual abuse materials (CSAM, called “child pornography” in many state laws) on his electronic devices and a large number of illicit drugs at his home. The investigation followed an online sting operation for prostitution where he allegedly offered to “pay a higher rate” to sexually abuse a child. The man was arrested at his job in Brookfield following an undercover investigation during which the man allegedly exchanged text messages with an undercover officer about an ad for prostitution. In the texts, police said the suspect asked for a girl between the ages of 4 and 12 and discussed drugging a child with narcotics. According to a criminal complaint, police served a search warrant at the man’s residence, where they located a portable hard drive. Upon review, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department observed 10 images of CSAM. A preliminary review of the suspect’s electronic devices revealed between 5,000 to 10,000 images of CSAM. The arrested sex buyer’s identity was disclosed in news reports.

In March, 2023, the Kettle Moraine High School Girls’ Basketball coach was arrested in a local prostitution sting. He had met with an undercover officer “posing as an escort” in a Brookfield hotel. The citation came two weeks after the sex buyer led the Kettle Moraine team to the state championship. Police arrested five people in the sting. The citation carries a fine of $25,000.