Manhattan is a city of approximately 55,000 residents, located in northeastern Kansas’ Riley County, about 60 miles west of Topeka. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity has been reported in the community for at least ten years.

Among their efforts to curtail local sex sales, the Riley County Police Department has conducted at least two reverse stings targeting sex buyers. In 2011, a three-day online operation using Backpage.com resulted in the arrests of two prostituted persons, two for promoting prostitution, and five sex buyers. A similar two-day sting conducted in April 2012, netted 11 people– four of whom were charged with patronizing prostitution– at two local hotels. Following both stings, the names, ages, and hometowns of the arrestees were reported in the news.

In July 2018, the Kansas Attorney General announced a new awareness campaign aimed at cutting the demand for prostitution as a way to fight human trafficking. The campaign involved state agencies and local advocacy groups teaming up to push the “Demand an End” initiative, which features education and announcements warning that buyers of sex face charges. The campaign intended to promote a culture in which, buying sex is not acceptable. It is based on the assumption that the money from sex buyers fuels a marketplace that enables sex trafficking.