Lufkin is a city of approximately 36,200 residents, located in Angelina County in east Texas.  Local prostitution and sex trafficking have been documented in the city.  In an effort to reduce the demand for prostitution, Lufkin police have conducted street-level reverse stings periodically since 1995.  According to police surveyed for the National Assessment, the Lufkin Police Department averages about two reverse stings per year.  A neighborhood watch program was established in 1990, to encourage community vigilance.

In December 2017, the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an online solicitation of a minor sting in Lufkin.  A man was arrested and held in the Nacogdoches County Jail on a second-degree prostitution solicitation of a minor charge. Special agents with the DPS Criminal Investigation Division communicated with the offender through social media. During the course of the conversation, he allegedly agreed to pay for sex with a minor. At that point, undercover agents set up a meeting location in Lufkin and waited for the suspect to arrive, and arrested him when he appeared and took steps to complete the transaction.