Lincoln City is a small city in Northwestern Oregon of approximately 9,700 residents, located in Lincoln County, OR. Problems associated with prostitution have been well-documented for decades. For example, in 2008, Lincoln City police arrested a woman at a motel on Highway 101 on charges of prostitution, and in a press release stated that prostitution was growing in the coastal city and had been “running under the radar” prior to that. The woman was arrested after agreeing to perform a sexual act on a plain-clothes detective in exchange for money.  She had an outstanding warrant for her arrest in Marion County, and was taken to Lincoln County Jail. In October 2020, a social and behavioral health services provider called Lincoln City police to report that a local client with a history of prostitution, schizophrenia, hallucinations, and a criminal history with drug use and theft, was missing and may have been taken to Portland.

In effort to reduce demand for commercial sex in the city, the Lincoln City Police Department has been known to have conducted at least one reverse sting operation, targeting individuals seeing to purchase commercial sex. For example, in May 2008, the Lincoln City Police Department conducted a web-based reverse sting by posting a decoy advertisement offering commercial sex on the online advertising platform Craigslist. Two men responded to the ad and communicated with undercover officers to arrange a location to meet. When they arrived and confirmed the intended to engage in commercial sex, the sex buyers were arrested. Officers released the name and identity of one of the offenders to local media outlets.