Fort Walton Beach is a city in Florida located about 65 miles west of Pensacola in the northwestern part of the state, with a population of approximately 21,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities and unincorporated areas of Okaloosa County. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking. For example, in 2016, two Fort Walton Beach residents were arrested in connection with a human trafficking and prostitution ring operating in Okaloosa and Walton counties. One of the defendants was charged with human trafficking and deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Agents from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, in cooperation with the Okaloosa and Walton County sheriff’s offices, made the arrests. According to a press release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the pair were accused of operating a human trafficking ring involving multiple victims. Agents began investigating after discovering online advertisements for escorts on the website Backpage.com. The investigation revealed four victims who authorities say were forced to engage in sex acts for money through the use of physical harm, threats of physical harm, or by enticing them with controlled substances such as heroin.

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.  Reverse sting operations have been used since at least 2007, possibly earlier, in response to complaints from residents about being solicited in public places. In one reverse sting in 2007, nine male sex buyers were arrested within a six-hour period. Another tactic used by local police, web stings, has been utilized in this city. As an example, in 2010, seven men were arrested over an eight-hour period as a result of responding to an ad police posted on the web for “escort services.”

The Florida State Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law in June 2019, that creates a registry of convicted sex buyers and provides a publicly-accessible listing of their identities. The registry data includes the names, addresses, and photos of those found guilty of soliciting sex from a prostituted person. The database is part of a broader legislation aimed at combating human trafficking by lowering demand for commercial sex. If fully implemented, all communities in Florida would be included in using identity disclosure as a tactic applied to arrested sex buyers.