Glen Dale is a city in Marshall County, West Virginia, located along the Ohio River. It is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the town’s population is about 1,400. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the region, and ancillary crimes it generates complaints to law enforcement agencies. Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been included by local law enforcement agencies in their strategies for prevention and response.

In July, 2019, five men were arrested in a prostitution sting in Glen Dale, and in initial reports, investigators said charges could still be filed against more people. The Glen Dale Police Department opened an investigation in March, 2019 after seeing a posting by a city woman on a website known for soliciting prostitution. Police began investigating the woman and monitored activity around her house, and began stopping vehicles and questioning potential sex buyers.  The first man its driver, who admitted to engaging in sex with the woman in exchange for money. He agreed to cooperate with police and allowed investigators to look at his cell phone, which showed text messages agreeing to the encounter, along with several other meetings. The woman was arrested and her cell phone searched. The woman had posted her solicitation ads online when her phone was malfunctioning, and she asked one of the men to continue posting her advertisement on the website each day, offering him a discount for her services, according to court documents.Police found text messages to multiple men, and eventually, the investigation resulted in five men arrested and charged with conspiracy, house of ill fame, assignation, and prostitution.  The men’s identities were included in news reports.