Carolina Beach is a small coastal town of approximately 6,000 residents in New Hanover County, North Carolina. Prostitution has been known to occur in the community, alongside related crimes of rape and child sexual abuse.

In August 2017, a former Carolina Beach reserve police officer was convicted and sentenced to prison for posing as an active duty police officer working a prostitution sting, who would then rape the “escorts” he met online, at least one of whom was a minor. According to the District Attorney’s Office, the man was convicted of four counts of second-degree sex offense, two counts of second-degree rape, three counts of sexual servitude of an adult victim, and four counts of impersonating a law enforcement officer. He was given an active sentence of 10-17 years in prison as well as a suspended sentence of 10-17 years once he is released. He was additionally given 60 months probation in the sex offender control program, and will have to register as an aggravated sex offender and be subject to GPS-based monitoring for the rest of his life. The man was also required to surrender his law enforcement certification.