Coatesville is a town with around 13,400 residents located in southeastern Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, located in Chester County, PA. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the city and greater county area. This activity and its ancillary crimes has generated residential complaints to local law enforcement. Reports of violence against individuals engaging in commercial sex have also been reported to occur in the area. Among the more serious issues associated with the local commercial sex market is child sex trafficking.

Efforts to combat commercial sex have included those focused on reducing demand for commercial sex, by targeting sex buyers in the area. For example, in 2007, the Coatesville Police Department and the Chester County Municipal Drug Task Force conducted a reverse sting, in which an undercover female officer posed as a prostituted woman and arrested men who attempted to solicit sex from her. As a result of the investigation, seven male sex buyers were arrested; their identities, ages, hometown, charges, and holding status included in reports by local media outlets.