Horry County is a county along the northeast coast of South Carolina, approximately 100 miles north of Charleston. It has approximately 269,000 residents, with its population concentrated around the cities of Conway and Myrtle Beach. In recent years, growing community complaints of solicitation have led the Horry County Police Department to adopt new strategies in an effort to combat consumer demand. These have included street-level and web-based reverse stings, the publication of arrestees’ names, and the imposition of “SOAP” orders restricting offenders from entering designated parts of the county.

Not all sex buyer arrests are the result of proactive sting operations, but instead are the product of investigations about real instances of prostitution and trafficking.  For example, in July, 2021, four people were arrested and charged in Federal court as response to in a child sex trafficking investigation that involved victims in South Carolina. The indictment alleged that, since at least April 2020, two men (one from Myrtle Beach) conspired to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, maintain, patronize, and solicit a minor victim in South Carolina to engage in a commercial sex act. Two other men who responded to the internet postings offering the child for commercial sexual abuse and the production of child sexual abuse images were arrested and faced numerous charges, including conspiracy to sexually traffic a minor, sexual trafficking of minor, conspiracy to produce child pornography and to coerce and entice a minor, four counts of production of child pornography involving two victims, four counts of coercion and enticement of a minor involving two victims, and possession of child pornography.

Loss of employment is another consequence of buying sex that has occurred within the county. For example, in February, 2007, a 15-year veteran of the Horry County Police force resigned after he was charged with soliciting prostitution. The officer paid for sex at least four times in the prior year while on duty, according to arrest warrants, which said that witnesses and prostitutes confirmed the incidents for investigators.