Frederick County is located in the northern region of Maryland, and is included within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.  Its county seat is the city of Frederick, and the county’s population is roughly 260,000.  Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well documented within the county for decades. Prostitution activity generates numerous complaints to police, and these complaints play a role in police devoting the resources to prostitution operations. Convictions for sex trafficking have occurred.

In February 2006, The Frederick News-Post reported that FPD officers had offered informal training sessions for police in neighboring towns within Frederick County who expressed interest in learning more about reverse sting tactics.  Since at least 1992, the Frederick Police Department has conducted street-level reverse stings. To deter other potential sex buyers, the FPD releases all arrestee names and other identifying information to the public. City officials may also post the names and photos of arrestees on their website for 30 days. Web-based reverse stings have also been conducted.  For example, in August, 2015, a pastor was among several men charged during a prostitution sting in Frederick County. The undercover prostitution operation targeted prostitution arranged over the internet. Frederick County Sheriff’s Office investigators set up fake prostitution advertisements online and directed would-be customers to a specific location. The seven suspects were arrested after arriving at the location, and allegedly offering an undercover police officer money in exchange for a sex act.

In May, 2019, four adult men were arrested for attempting to solicit children for sex following a multi-day undercover operation. The investigation was conducted by the Frederick Police Department, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the State’s Attorney’s Office as part of the Frederick County Cyber Crime Task Force (FCCTF). During this operation, suspects chatted on several social media platforms with undercover investigators who posed as minors. Authorities arrested the suspects as they arrived at an arranged meeting place for access to sexually abuse the minors. Detectives arrested and charged the men with Sexual Solicitation of a Minor, and all were held without bond at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center.