Lithia Springs is a town of approximately 17,000 in Douglas County, located in the north-central portion of Georgia. Prostitution activity and the sex trafficking of minors are well-documented issues in Lithia Springs, generating associated drug and weapons offenses and resulting in persistent complaints from the community. A 2012 report on human trafficking in the greater Atlanta area discussed the case of a felon serving a 20-year prison sentence for sexually exploiting 16-year-old girls. The man ran his “escort service” online from a residence in Lithia Springs. In 2013, a Lithia Springs woman was charged with prostitution and drug possession after her online ad led to a deal for $75 in exchange for sexual intercourse. In 2014-2015, local law enforcement reported an increase in local prostitution, most of it conducted online and in hotels, increasing drug rampancy and DUI charges from the potential sex buyers looking for prostituted women. In 2018, another woman was arrested in Lithia Springs on charges including prostitution and possession of drugs and guns.

Among the tactics used to address these issues are web-based reverse stings. For example, in February 2015, thirteen men were arrested during an undercover prostitution sting conducted by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. After receiving numerous complaints about prostitution, the DCSO Special Investigations Division advertised online soliciting sexual acts for money. Numerous suspects reportedly called the phone number listed in the online ad and were given the address to a room in the area of Thornton Road in Lithia Springs. They arrived at the room, expecting to meet a prostitute, but were arrested for misdemeanor pandering instead. The identities of the men were publicly released. All the men were granted a $3,500 bond for the pandering charge, and three of them were also charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and were granted a $1,000 bond on that charge.