Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, with a population of approximately 13,750. It is located in northeastern California, near the Nevada border. Reports of problems stemming from prostitution in the city date back to the brothels of the gold rush era in the 1800s.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and demand reduction tactics have been used in the city. In October, 2022, a local county case worker was arrested and charged with three felonies for pandering and prostitution. A victim alleged that she had met the man while receiving services in Grass Valley. The man withheld services such as money for gas, because she refused to cooperate with him by sending “inappropriate pictures” and providing “sexual favors.”  The woman filed a police report in Grass Valley.  The victim claimed that she kept text messages and pictures that were exchanged with the suspect, proving the inappropriate contact and threats. She also alleged that there was a second victim who was paid for sex by the same man, and also filed a police report. The arrested man’s identity was publicly disclosed in news reports.