Inver Grove Heights is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, and has a population of about 35,000. It is one of 186 cities and townships in the seven-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.  Prostitution and sex trafficking in the Twin Cities metro area has been well documented, and includes activity in Inver Grove Heights.  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.   For example, in 2016, a web-based reverse sting was conducted by the Inver Grove Heights Police Department, with assistance from a special agent with Homeland Security. One man was arrested after he responded via email to an online ad suggesting juvenile sex was for sale. A Homeland Security agent responded that it would cost $50-100 for various sexual services and that the girl was 15 years old.  The man continued communication via email, text and phone calls, and arranged to meet to buy sex at a hotel room in Inver Grove Heights, where he was arrested. He admitted to talking with a girl on Craigslist and that he came to the hotel to “have sex or whatever.”  He was charged with prostitution and prostitution in a public place. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. He was convicted of misdemeanor prostitution in 2017; the second gross misdemeanor charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to one year of probation and three days in jail. He was fined $300.