Florence County, South Carolina has a population of about 137,000 and its county seat is Florence. Florence County is included in the Florence, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well documented problems in the county. For example, in February 2012, four people were arrested at an interstate motel in a Florence County Sheriff’s Office prostitution sting. The sting was prompted by citizens’ complaints, according to a release issued by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies conducted their sting at an area motel at the US 52/Interstate 95 interchange, but did not identify the motel. In October 2019, a Florence man was charged with promoting the prostitution of a minor, kidnapping, three counts of trafficking in persons, three counts of criminal sexual conduct, first degree, and criminal sexual with a minor, second degree. Investigators said the man committed the offense in Florence county by “recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, or soliciting by any means a victim who is under the age of 18 for the purpose of sex trafficking.”

Child neglect is also among the many problems associated with the local prostitution market. For example, in June 2016, a woman police arrested for solicitation of prostitution was also charged with child neglect after she brought an infant to the motel to meet who she thought was a sex buyer. Officers arrested the 20-year-old woman after an undercover officer responded to her online ad soliciting sexual services. Officers met her at a Florence motel and subsequently arrested her on the solicitation charge. During her arrest, she mentioned a baby who was still in the room. When officers returned to the motel room, they found the infant on the bed. The woman was charged with solicitation of prostitution and unlawful neglect of a child. She was booked into the Florence County Detention Center and two days later was released on $3,500 bond.

Among the tactics used to address such problems are those targeting consumer-level demand. For example, in June 2016, four men were arrested on prostitution-related charges during an undercover sting conducted at a hotel on West Lucas Street by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. The sting was conducted following numerous complains for suspected prostitution near businesses at U.S. Highway 52 and Interstate 95, according a news release from the Florence County Sheriff’s Office. A decoy online ad was posted and an undercover officer posed as a woman engaged in prostitution. Four men responded to the ad and arranged to buy sex at the hotel, and were arrested when they followed through. Their identities were included in press releases.

In July 2017, Florence County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested nine people on prostitution related charges during an undercover operation in the area of U.S. 52 and I-95 in Florence County. Four men were arrested and charged with solicitation of prostitution, and their identities were published. In November 2017, five men were arrested for solicitation of prostitution in Florence County during another reverse sting.

Some arrests of sex buyers are the result of investigations into allegations of crimes against real victims, rather than reverse stings using police decoys. For example, in January 2020, a man was indicted on 14 charges including criminal sexual conduct with a minor, promoting the prostitution of a minor, multiple counts of human trafficking, kidnapping, and other offenses. Investigators said the man committed the offenses in Florence County by “recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing, obtaining, or soliciting by any means a victim who is under the age of 18 for the purpose of sex trafficking.” Agents said they were investigating sex crimes in Darlington when they learned through social media that the suspect had solicited a person younger than 18 for sex acts. In addition, an affidavit alleged that a person said they received money and other things of value for commercial sex acts with the suspect. The State Law Enforcement Division’s Human Trafficking Unit, Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, and Florence County Sheriff’s Office all assisted in the investigation. In August 2023, the man pleaded guilty to 13 charges: five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, five counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, and three counts of criminal sexual conduct. All charges were related to sex trafficking of minors that occurred from 2017-2019. The man was sentenced to 30 years, suspended to 19 years in prison, after which he will be on probation for five years and must register as a sex offender.