Marcola is an unincorporated community of approximately 600 residents in Lane County, OR, situated northeast of Springfield, OR. While prostitution and sex trafficking are not significant issues in the community, reports of their occurrence have been well-documented throughout the county. Among the more serious crimes associated with the county’s commercial sex market is child sex trafficking.

Loss of employment and public identity disclosure are consequences of buying sex in the community. For example, in July 2009, the Marcola School Superintendent was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover Springfield police officer. According to reports, he was one of 13 male sex buyers arrested during a prostitution sting conducted by the Springfield Police Department. The man avoided prosecution and potential jail time by signing a “diversion agreement,” that required the offender to plead guilty and pay a $1,000 fine. Additionally, under the “diversion agreement” terms, if the sex buyer does not re-offend over the subsequent year, the conviction would be removed from the record. As a result of his arrest, the sex buyer resigned from the Marcola district, where he had served as superintendent since 2001, and also reported the incident to the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission. Soliciting prostitution is a misdemeanor crime that allows for the termination of a state teaching license.