Inver Grove Heights is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota and has a population of about 36,000. 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 have 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 access to sexually abuse a juvenile was for sale. A Homeland Security agent responded that it would cost $50-100 for various sex acts 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 and was fined $300.