Calcium is a hamlet and census-designated place of less than 5,000 residents, located in upstate New York’s Jefferson County, near Watertown. The hamlet is in the town of Le Ray. In December 2014, following reports of prostitution activity at a hotel along Route 342 in Calcium, New York State Police launched an undercover investigation on the premises that resulted in the arrests of five sex buyers and one prostituted woman. In their efforts, NYSP officers collaborated with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. Following the sting, all of the  arrestees’ names, ages, and mugshots were publicized by local media outlets.