El Paso County is a county of approximately 839,240  residents, located in the westernmost part of Texas. While the city of El Paso comprises roughly two-thirds of the county’s population, the county also contains Horizon City and over a dozen unincorporated areas. It is served by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.  Prostitution is a well-documented problem in the county, and among the related problems have been a serial killer who targeted prostituted women locally, and other prostitution-related homicides.

While the vast majority of intra-county anti-prostitution investigations have targeted prostituted women advertising their services online, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has also supplemented city police efforts in El Paso and Horizon City by conducting their own periodic street-level reverse stings. Stings (often categorized as “Operation John[s]”) are typically led by the EPCSO’s Strike Team, who employ undercover female officers as decoys. Operations may span two to four days, and result in anywhere from 10 to 20 arrests. Once completed, a summary of the sting operation may be posted to the EPCSO’s official blog with the corresponding names and photos of those arrested.

El Paso Police Department and El Paso County Sheriff’s Office frequently deploy street-level and web-based reverse stings, performing these operations weekly in 2011-2013. They have been conducting street-level operations since 1985, and web-based operations since 2004. They have also implemented public awareness campaigns, neighborhood watch programs, and use shaming tactics to further target demand.  Web-based reverse continue through the present.  For example, in January, 2021 five men were arrested in a web-based sting targeting those seeking to purchase minors for sexual abuse.  In January, 2021, a joint operation of the Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations and other agencies resulted in the arrest of four men charged with online solicitation of a minor, and investigations were initiated for five other suspects.  In April 2021, a similar operation produced the arrest of 10 men.  The photos and names of the arrested men were included in news releases.

In January, 2022, several law enforcement agencies collaborated to conduct multiple adult prostitution operations and online solicitation of minor operations throughout the West Texas Region. Officials said the goal of the operations was to target individuals seeking to exploit and victimize trafficking victims, as well as to identify and apprehend individuals suspected to be involved in human trafficking by using various websites to solicit sexual acts from minors. As a result of these operations, thirty-five (35) suspects were arrested and faced charges. The identities of the 35 arrested individuals were public released, and aw enforcement officials said Special Agents were also able to identify and open investigations into additional suspects.  Agencies collaborating on the investigations included: The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division (CID); Texas Highway Patrol; Homeland Security Investigations; El Paso Police Department; Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission; Fort Bliss Army CID; Odessa Police Department; Reeves County Sheriff’s Office, and Texas DPS Intelligence and Counter Terrorism Division.

An organization has posted that it offers a “john school” program in El Paso County. We have no additional information about its implementation in the county.