Fulton County, New York has a population of approximately 53,000. Its county seat is Johnstown, and Gloversville is its most populous city, with about 15,000 residents. It is located in the Mohawk Valley region of upstate New York, roughly 50 miles northwest of Albany. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity has been documented throughout the county for decades. 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. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has collaborated with local police in multiple communities to arrest sex buyers.

In February, 2012, a former Fulton County coroner was charged with “patronizing a prostitute,” and the allegedly prostituting woman was charged with stealing form the man. The man allegedly propositioned her on the street and she took him up on this proposition to exchange money for sex. Police said the woman went to the sex buyer’s house several times and provided sex form money. During one of these visits, she allegedly stole several personal checks from him, forged his signature on the checks, and cashed them under her name. The sex buyer then filed a stolen check complaint. After an investigation, police charged the woman with felony forgery and misdemeanor petty theft and prostitution. Police went to banks where the woman cashed the checks and obtained a photograph of her, then interviewed the woman who disclosed the prostitution relationship. The identities of both parties were publicly disclosed.

In June, 2017, a police sting operation targeting sexual predators resulted in the arrests of two area men on sex abuse-related charges. According to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, the underage sex investigation involved a State Police officer who posed as children in electronic communications with others. One of the men attempted to arrange a sexual abuse encounter with someone he thought was a 14-year-old female, and was charged with second-degree attempted rape, second-degree attempted criminal sexual act and disseminating indecent materials to a minor, all felonies. The other man sought to abuse a 14 year old boy, and was charged with second-degree attempted criminal sexual act for allegedly trying to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy. Both men were arraigned in Perth Town Court and sent to jail. While conducting the reverse sting, police observed real ads for commercial sex and made two prostitution arrests.

In August 2017,  Gloversville police arrested two people who were interrupted attempting to engage in sex acts at a vacant church, which was known to be a frequent site of illicit activities. Further investigation revealed that the two had agreed to engage in sexual conduct in exchange for $20. City police charged one with prostitution and the other with third-degree patronizing a prostitute. Police also publicly disclosed the name, age, and address of the arrested sex buyer.