Idaho Falls is a city of approximately 60,000 residents in southeastern Idaho.  It is located along an interstate highway, which police say contributes to prostitution and sex trafficking occurring in local hotels.  In a web-based reverse sting occurring in 2011, the Idaho Falls Police Department arrested four men at a hotel.  The operation was somewhat different than a standard web-based reverse sting:  in this instance, police arrested two women who were selling sex online.  The arrested women cooperated with police to conduct the reverse sting by continuing to run their online advertisement.  Men who called their phone to arrange to buy sex were asked to meet at a hotel, where they were arrested by Idaho Falls police.

Some arrests of sex buyers in Idaho Falls are the product of allegations against specific individuals, rather than reverse stings using police decoys.  For example, in May, 2021, an Idaho Falls man was arrested for raping a 15-year-old girl. In August, 2021, a new probable cause affidavit stated that the man also reportedly raped a 17-year-old girl and reportedly conspired to attempt to sex traffic other girls at a group home. The affidavit stated the man gave both victims drugs and then raped them. One victim said she intended to pay the man $30 for the tattoos at the first meeting, but that he demanded one of them perform a sex act instead. One refused, but the other victim performed the sex act. She said they later passed out from the drugs the man gave them, and that she woke up while he was raping her.  Two victims received the tattoos, and then were told they needed to have sex with the man as payment, and were threatened with guns when one refused. Another girl who met with the man was told she could keep 10 percent of any money they made from selling sex and that they would keep 90 percent.  The man also demanded and received nude photographs from one of the girls via social media.  He was charged in Bonneville County Court with rape, punishable with a minimum of one year in prison and up to a life sentence. He was also charged with possession of child sexually exploitative material, punishable with up to 10 years in prison.  This case involved many serious felony offenses, including rape and extortion of minors, sex trafficking of children, and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, but for the purposes of Demand Forum, meets the criteria for an arrest of a sex buyer since the man demanded sex in exchange for something of value (tattoos).