Macon is a city situated in central Georgia with a population of approximately 160,000, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta on Interstate 75. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city, surrounding communities, and in other areas of the county. This activity, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates result in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking.

Sex trafficking has been well documented in the city, especially, the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation. Other crimes include money laundering of prostitution proceeds and the assault of people being sold in commercial sex. For example, in October 2018, seven people (including two former employees of Fort Valley State University) were arrested and charged with various sex crimes, including pandering and solicitation of sodomy. After an extended investigation into illegal conduct at the university occurring in 2017 and 2018, it was discovered that four of the six men were customers of a campus-based prostitution ring. The police also arrested a woman charged with six counts of pimping and financial crimes. Some cases of local sex trafficking have also involved child sexual abuse materials (CSAM, often referred to in state laws as “child pornography). Violence associated with prostitution in Macon has also included the assault and robbery of sex buyers.

Consumer-level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. Among their efforts to contain the problems associated with commercial sex, the Macon Police Department has conducted reverse stings to combat demand. Reverse stings were conducted between 1998 and 2012, although they appear to be conducted more infrequently prior to 2015.

A web-based reverse sting was conducted in March 2015, and in January 2018, a man was arrested after arriving at a motel with the intent to have sex with a 15-year-old girl. He was convicted on one count of computer pornography, child exploitation, and one count of criminal attempts to commit a felony. A Bibb County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 25 years, 15 of them in prison, and required him to register as a sex offender for life. Evidence presented during the trial showed that the offender responded to a Craig’s List advertisement for sex with a 15-year-old girl and her mother. The ad was posted by undercover police officers as part of a sting operation. He acknowledged in an email responding to the ad that he knew sex with a 15-year-old would be illegal and testified he believed he was talking to the girl’s mother (when in reality, he was emailing an FBI agent). He arrived at a Macon motel eight minutes after being given a meeting place and time.