East Brunswick is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. The suburban community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located directly adjacent to the city of New Brunswick. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well documented in the city and surrounding areas for decades, and have generated complaints to police and additional crimes such as child endangerment and drug offenses. For example, in 2015, police arrested two employees – one for prostitution, the other for drug possession – after an undercover operation at a downtown spa located on Main St. Undercover detectives entered the spa and during massages were offered sexual acts in exchange for money by a female employee. A male employee was arrested as he entered the spa and charged with possession of heroin, marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Police responses to prostitution in New Brunswick are driven in part by persistent complaints by residents. To combat the consumer-level demand for commercial sex that drives all prostitution and sex trafficking markets, and thus attracting all related crimes, local law enforcement has used demand reduction tactics such as the arrest of sex buyers, employment loss, and the public disclosure of their identities. For example, in February 2018, a New Jersey rabbi and two New York City residents faced charges in connection with the alleged sex trafficking of a Pennsylvania teenager. Middlesex County prosecutors said two individuals from the Bronx, coerced a 17-year-old Lancaster girl into being sexually exploited by roughly 30 men between January 1 and February 2, 2018, at an East Brunswick hotel. They were arrested and faced numerous charges, including criminal restraint and promoting prostitution. The rabbi, a 35-year-old man from East Brunswick, was allegedly among those who had sexually abused the girl in an East Brunswick hotel and then offered to buy additional time with her, gave her his number and later asked her to come to New York to meet him, federal prosecutors said. Police used those text messages to track him down, according to publicly-released court documents. He was initially charged with engaging in “prostitution with a child” and child endangerment. He later  pleaded guilty to interstate travel in aid of a racketeering enterprise. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison, and was dismissed from his position as a rabbi.

In April 2018, a member of the East Brunswick Board of Education resigned after he was charged in a prostitution sting at a Hazlet massage parlor. He was charged with one count of engaging in prostitution. He pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct offense, and paid a $1,000 fine. He submitted his resignation to the East Brunswick schools Superintendent. The man had also served as a teacher at East Brunswick High School before becoming a board member. The acceptance of his resignation was voted on by the board at a subsequent meeting.