Kansas City, Kansas is a city on the northeastern border of the Kansas state, with a population of about 153,000 residents. It is the third largest city in the state of Kansas and is the largest city and seat of Wyandotte County, KS. Given the structure of the twin cities of Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, MO, many of the police operations and other efforts to address prostitution and sex trafficking are joint efforts of the two cities, in addition to the respective county sheriff’s offices and neighboring suburbs in the two states. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market are child sex trafficking and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Effort to combat prostitution and sex trafficking have included those focused on reducing demand. For example, street-level reverse stings have been utilized since at least 1979, if not earlier. For example, one reverse sting in April 1979, resulted in the arrest of 63 male sex buyers. At times, sex buyers have had their vehicles seized and impounded. For example, in 2006, during a day-long reverse sting operation, 18 sex buyers were arrested, 16 of which had their cars towed in relation to the solicitation charges. Stay Out of Areas of Prostitution (SOAP) Orders have also been implemented in the city, barring arrested sex buyers from entering locations known for prostitution activity.

In addition to street-level reverse stings, web-based reverse stings have more recently been utilized in efforts to combat the growing online commercial  sex market. For example, in May 2022, 32 people were arrested in a multi-state child sexual exploitation operation conducted across Missouri and Kansas. Authorities with the Department of Homeland Security said 15 of those arrests came from a sting conducted in Independence, Kansas City, Jackson, Platte, and Clay Counties in Missouri, and Bourbon County in Kansas, which according to a release from the Midwest division of the DHS, partners in and around those areas, targeted adults willing to travel for the purpose of sexually exploiting a child. Of the 15 arrested in the Kansas City-area sting, authorities said crimes included intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, enticement of a minor, sex trafficking of a child, furnishing pornography to minors, sexual exploitation of a minor, promoting prostitution, aggravated human trafficking, sex trafficking, felony assault on a law enforcement officer, attempted statutory sodomy, and attempted second-degree statutory rape. Multiple law enforcement agencies in the Wichita area teamed up for Operation Blue Ghost, which resulted in 17 arrests for crimes including aggravated human trafficking, promoting the sale of sex, and purchasing sex acts. Authorities in the Kansas City area collaborated to arrest an additional 15 individuals.

Identity disclosure and loss of employment are also consequences of buying sex within the city. For example, in 1973, a Kansas City attorney was arrested and convicted of felony prostitution and bribery charges. According to records, “the petitioner was charged in a grand jury indictment in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas with conspiracy to violate the Kansas laws against prostitution and bribery. The charge grew out of the operation of certain houses of prostitution in Wyandotte County by a client of the petitioner and allegations that the client conspired with the petitioner to bribe certain police officials and thereby obtain protection from raids upon the houses of prostitution, and the enforcement of the criminal laws relating to prostitution. He went to trial before a jury and was convicted.” As a result of his arrest, he voluntarily surrendered his certificate and privilege to practice law in the state of Kansas.

In 2002, Veronica’s Voice Offenders Accountability Re-Education, or Johnz School, was created as an intensive, one-day, educational class. This program was modeled after early john school programs such as FOPP in San Francisco, CA and similarly focused on reducing the demand side of prostitution. Attendees were all court ordered. This was the only program that is fee-based at Veronica’s Voice. This program was designed as an alternative to conviction for first-time offenders arrested for patronizing prostitution (not involving a minor) as a condition of probation, diversion, or in lieu of prosecution. The fees collected from the Johnz School (paid by participating sex buyers) went back into Veronica’s Voice services and programming for victims of prostitution and sex trafficking. Classes were regularly scheduled on the 3rd Saturday of each month and cost $850, payable by only cash or money order. A certificate of completion is granted at the end of the class if the fee is paid in full. For further information on the Johnz School, click here: Johnz School 2008-2014 Evaluation Report

Stopping Sexual Exploitation: A Program for Men

In 2018, Veronica’s Voice worked with Peter Qualliotine to redesign the Johnz School to replicate a more extensive model that Peter first developed in Seattle through Organization for Prostitution Survivors, Stop Sexual Exploitation (SSE). This program sought to build on recommendations to the current john school model and emphasize the effectiveness of the program on the behavior change of individual participants. The Kansas City program, Stopping Sexual Exploitation: a Program for Men focused on o strengthening the meaning and influence of the sex-buyer intervention program as a legal consequence to sex buying that sets social norms for the larger population. The Kansas City, MO based program was created by Model Equality and Veronica’s Voice and is and open to all courts within the Kansas City MSA. SSEKC is designed to help men understand their behavior and promote their accountability in choosing to not buy sex. The program consists of the following components:

• Two individual 60-minute sessions of Motivational Interviewing (MI) before participation in the group. (MI has been proven to enhance the effectiveness of group intervention programs for perpetration of Domestic Violence and people struggling with chemical dependency.)
• Eight weekly group sessions will follow. Group size is limited, and the eight three-hour learning modules are highly interactive, utilizing exercises and group discussion to engage participants in a process of self-reflection and critical analysis. Weekly topics include:

For more information on the SSEKC program follow the links below:

• Stopping Sexual Exploitation Kansas City (SSEKC) 2019 Evaluation Report
• SSEKC 2019 Presentation