Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon. The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, along the Rogue River. It has a population of roughly 40,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well documented local problems. For example, in October 2021, three people were arrested after police alleged that a massage parlor was involved in prostitution and sex trafficking. An undercover officer went into the business pursuant to an ongoing investigation and confirmed the allegations. Police said there was one victim in the brothel at the time they arrested the three suspects. The three arrestees faced a number of charges including promoting prostitution. Subsequent investigations connected the Grants Pass brothel to prostitution operations in Medford and Eugene. Sex traffickers and sex buyers who are residents of Grant’s Pass have also been arrested by police in other jurisdictions. For example, in 2017, a Grants Pass man was arrested in a reverse sting in Medford, OR. In June, 2019, Beaverton Police detectives arrested a man from Grants Pass, for Compelling Prostitution. Detectives contacted the suspect after he dropped off a 17-year-old minor victim at the location set for the “prostitution date.” A Grand Jury indicted the man for Compelling Prostitution of a Minor (Measure 11) and two counts of Promoting Prostitution.

Among the tactics used to combat local prostitution and sex trafficking are those designed to deter consumer level demand, and hold sex buyers accountable. For example, in October 2021, a lawyer was arrested on misdemeanor charges accusing him of paying $500 for sex with a woman at a Grants Pass motel. The man faced a misdemeanor prostitution charge accusing him of paying a fee for sex with a woman, according to documents filed by the Josephine County District Attorney’s Office in Josephine County Circuit Court. Evidence in the prostitution investigation surfaced while detectives were investigating an unrelated narcotics case at the same motel where the alleged encounter occurred, according to release from Grants Pass police. Video surveillance at the motel allegedly showed the man, who lives in Grants Pass, leaving a hotel room in his name, according to an affidavit filed by Grants Pass police in the case. The woman involved cooperated with investigators, and allegedly told police that the attorney paid her $500 in cash for sex and showed police text messages corroborating the meetup and solicitation. Grants Pass police arrested the man and booked him in the Josephine County Jail on the prostitution charge, according to jail records. He was released the same day after paying a $1,000 bond on $10,000 bail. Oregon court records show no prior criminal history for the sex buyer. The man was an attorney with a Grants Pass law firm, and the firm’s webpage also said that the man was a board member of the Boys & Girls Club of the Rogue Valley. The club’s executive director said that the man never worked around kids, and passed his background check when he was first brought on board. Following news of his arrest, the Club announced they had removed him from the board, saying “The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley are committed to the highest standards of ethical behavior and integrity and do not tolerate inappropriate or illegal behavior on the part of any board member, Club staff, volunteer, or youth member.” 

In November 2021, while investigating a narcotics crime at a motel in Grants Pass, the Grants Pass Police’s Rogue Area Drug Enforcement Detectives became aware of another crime that involved prostitution at the motel. Detectives arrested a 32-year-old man who police said paid cash for sex with an adult woman at the motel. Driver was taken into custody and charged with prostitution and commercial sexual solicitation.