Hobe Sound is a city of approximately 13,000 residents in Martin County on the eastern coast of Florida.  Prostitution activity has been well-documented in Hobe Sound, surrounding communities, and surrounding unincorporated areas of Martin county. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Several registered sex offenders convicted of the sex trafficking of minors reside in Hobe Sound (as of 2013-2014).

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. Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies have conducted street-level reverse stings using female officers as decoys. A two-day reverse sting captured 13 men in 1997, but it is unknown when reverse stings first occurred in the area.

In February 2019, law enforcement agencies announced several substantial investigations into allegations of human trafficking and prostitution occurring in storefront spas serving as brothels across several counties in Florida. After conducting surveillance and investigations in response to allegations and then establishing probable cause, warrants were obtained, and surveillance cameras were installed in several Martin County brothels in the cities of Hobe Sound and Stuart. Initial reports said that four spas in Martin County were also involved in the multi-county investigations and enforcement actions. Evidence about sexual activity from the hidden cameras was combined with evidence from trash pulls, executed search warrants, and traffic stops of vehicles leaving the brothels. The accumulated evidence led to arrest warrants for over 100 sex buyers in Martin County. The six-month investigation revealed human traffickers were luring vulnerable girls to massage parlors in Florida, where they were coerced into working as prostitutes. Most of the 60 men identified and apprehended faced charges of soliciting prostitution.  Depending on the circumstances of the individual events, some men may not be booked into the County jail. Residents of Florida may receive a notice in the mail saying they are summoned to appear in court; out-of-state residents may have warrants issued for their arrest in Florida. Different agencies in Florida may handle charging and booking differently; e.g., in related investigations, Martin County arrested and then booked sex buyers and posted each mug shot online; Palm Beach County did not book them or post photos, and Indian River County agencies posted photos before the arrests occurred. Soliciting another to commit prostitution is punishable as a second-degree misdemeanor for a first offense and a first-degree misdemeanor for a subsequent offense. A first offense carries a jail sentence of up to 60 days, and a second offense carries a sentence of up to one year. Under Florida Statutes, punishment options for people charged for the first time with soliciting a prostitute may include a diversion program that may involve performing up to 100 hours of community service and attending a course on the harmful effects of prostitution and sex trafficking “if such programs exist in the judicial circuit in which the offender is sentenced.” In April 2019, the first of more than 60 men charged the prior February in a Martin County prostitution sting had accepted a plea deal.  The Hobe Sound resident pleaded no contest to a charge of soliciting prostitution during a hearing; prosecutors dropped a charge of use of structure or conveyance for prostitution. County Judge Darren Steele placed the man on one year of probation and ordered that he serve 100 hours of community service, pay a $5,000 civil fine, and must take a class about the effects of prostitution and sex trafficking.