Lonoke County is located in central Arkansas, about 30 miles east of Little Rock. It has a population of about 75,000 residents. The county seat is the town of Lonoke and its largest city is Cabot. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented in the area and most investigations begin with resident complaints.

For example, in May 2010 the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office arrested two women and one man, all of whom were charged with prostitution or solicitation of prostitution, in the Greystone neighborhood of Cabot. The investigation began after residents complained about the amount of traffic in the neighborhood. Officers obtained a search warrant based on conversations with two men who admitted to paying for sex, but were not arrested themselves. The two women were allegedly running an Internet-advertised prostitution business out of their home, which they claimed was a massage business though they were not licensed massage therapists. The business was advertised on a sign along Highway 5 and on Backpage.com.

In January 2017, the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office arrested a local probation officer and pastor for solicitation of prostitution. They began an investigation after receiving complaints about his suspected unethical actions. An undercover detective said the suspect made lewd and inappropriate comments and then used a city-issued cellphone to arrange sex for money. The man’s name and photo were released to the press.