East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, and has a population of about 10,000. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located less than 10 miles west of Midtown Manhattan. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the area, and have generated complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. 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.

To identify and apprehend sex buyers, Bergen County law enforcement agencies have conducted reverse stings. For example, in the timeframe around the Super Bowl in February 2014, agencies in the region collaborated on a number of stings and reverse stings. The FBI was among the partners in a Super Bowl sex trafficking task force set up by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office after it was announced that the game would be held in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. Soon after the announcement, New Jersey officials began training law  enforcement personnel, hospitality workers, high school students, airport employees, and others to recognize and respond to signs of sex trafficking.