League City is located within the Greater Houston metropolitan area, in Galveston County, and has a population over 116,000.  Prostitution and sex trafficking are well documented in the city.  For example, in July 2009, League City undercover detectives arrested two prostituted women operating out of a massage parlor on West Main. Acting on a tip from a resident, detectives found the business advertising massage therapy on several Web sites and decided to set up a sting. Police said that while posing as customers at the business, the undercover detectives were offered sex for a fee by the two women.

To combat consumer level demand that drives all prostitution and sex trafficking, police have conducted web-based reverse stings, sometimes focusing on those trying to buy sex with children.  For example, in November 2016, League City Police concluded an online sting. The Criminal Investigation Division conducted the operation intended to identify and arrest suspects engaged in the online sexual exploitation of children.  Three men were arrested and were transported to the League City Police Department and will face charges in Galveston County. League city police have also participated in regional operations.  For example, in 2016 they collaborated in a reverse sting operation in Texas City that led to the arrest of 11 men allegedly seeking prostitutes.  Four officers posed as prostitutes in an operation, and the support team included officials from the Texas City crime suppression unit, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, the League City Police Department, and Texas City police code enforcement.  A police  official at the time said they used undercover officers from neighboring jurisdictions like League City and Chambers County so the sex buyers are less likely to suspect them as decoys.