Elsmere is city of about 9,000 residents in Kenton County, Kentucky. It is located in the northern part of the state, in the greater Cincinnati area near Florence. Prostitution has been documented in the city, generating complaints to police. Responses to the local problem have included the arrest of sex buyers. For example, in February 2021, a former northern Kentucky police officer and registered sex offender was arrested and charged with prostitution-related offenses. The Elsmere Police Department arrested the man on a charge of loitering for prostitution purposes, after the man repeatedly offered another man $100 in exchange for sexual acts. In a separate case, the suspect pleaded guilty in September 2020 in Pendleton County to an attempted unlawful transaction with a minor.