Liberty County, Texas is located approximately 50 miles northeast of Houston and has a population of about 98,000 residents. The county seat is Liberty. Sex trafficking of children has been documented in the county. For example, in March 2021, the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office received a tip from a credible source that a 23-year-old man and his 24-year-old girlfriend were involved in several criminal sexual offenses. The investigation uncovered additional evidence and arrest warrants were issued, after which the man surrendered himself at the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. He was placed in the county jail with his bond set at $90,000. His girlfriend surrendered herself to the Hurst Police Department and would later be transferred back to Liberty County. They were charged with Human Trafficking, Sexual Abuse of a Child, and Bestiality, with additional charges possible at a later date.

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office has collaborated with other police departments in the area to conduct reverse sting operations. Liberty Police Department detectives implemented a new strategy targeting sex buyers in 2007. That September, police conducted the city’s first street-level reverse sting, resulting in the arrest of nine sex buyers. The operation used an undercover female officer as a decoy. The LPD released the mens’ names, photos and other identifying information to the media.  In October 2020, the Beaumont Police Department announced the arrest of 26 individuals in a weekend prostitution sting.  The two-day operation led to the arrest of 21 males that solicited sexual relations from minors and adults. Beaumont Police and the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office conducted the two-day operation with assistance from both the Liberty County and McLennan County Sheriff’s Departments with the goal of targeting “human trafficking” and “sex buyers.”  The identities of all those arrested were included in news releases.