Greenwood is a city of approximately 65,000 residents, located within Johnson County, Indiana. Greenwood is located between Indiana State Road 37 and Interstate 65, and the city is included in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in Greenwood and throughout Johnson County, particularly at interstate highway truck stops, and in storefront brothels such as massage businesses and spas. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. For example, in June 2016, a 41-year-old Franklin woman was arrested on a charge of prostitution. She was advertising sex for cash on the Internet, and a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office deputy went undercover, sent her text messages, talked to her on the phone, agreed to meet in Greenwood to exchange sex for $150. In October 2021, a local woman was arrested for prostitution after offering an undercover officer sex for money. Greenwood police had received complaints from the public about possible prostitution at a spa on North State Road, and went undercover to investigate.

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. Demand reduction tactics used in the town include the arrest of sex buyers and the public disclosure of their identities. For example, in July 2008, a police officer and his wife were accused of running a prostitution ring out of their Greenwood home, where the officer allegedly collected cash from the prostituted women while in uniform. The police officer faced a charge of aiding in promoting prostitution. While wearing his police uniform, he would collect money from prostituted women hired by his wife. Arrest warrants were issued for the couple as well as a male sex buyer, a Marion County Sheriff’s Department employee who faced a misdemeanor count of “patronizing a prostitute.” A probable cause affidavit alleged that the man, who was a civilian MCSD employee, paid one of the “escorts” to perform a sex act on him. The couple was charged with multiple felony counts of promoting prostitution for allegedly operating the illegal escort service from their Greenwood home. The male sex buyer’s identity was publicly disclosed.

In April 2023, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office announced the results of a three-day sting operation in which 32 people were arrested on child solicitation and prostitution charges, as well as some drug possession charges. The operation took place in Greenwood, but none of the men arrested were from Johnson County. Twenty of the men arrested were from Indianapolis or Marion County, and some men traveled from as far as Tennessee. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the operation by the Franklin Police Department and Edinburgh Police Department.