Marshall is a town of about 900 residents located in Madison County, North Carolina. The town is the county seat of Madison County, and is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the town and in surrounding communities (such as Asheville), and in other areas of Madison County.  This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. For example, in 2017, an undercover operation by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security officers arrested 16 suspects in Marshall, who later collectively faced 53 charges ranging from prostitution to felony drug possession. The investigation started after local law enforcement officers received multiple calls from neighbors and family members. Working with Homeland Security, Madison County Sheriff’s Office investigators began using websites like backpage.com and craigslist.org to research potential perpetrators, and secured a location in a remote section of Mars Hill to bring in people contacted on the websites. Once they arrived at the arranged site, an undercover law enforcement officer would speak with the suspect to gather evidence that could help prove sex-for-money exchange allegations. Once reaching that threshold, the decoy would call out a code phrase and a special response team would emerge from the basement to make arrests.

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. For example, in May, 2019, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations arrested 31 people during an undercover operation focused on illegal drugs and prostitution. The operation targeted individuals distributing illicit drugs and people involved in prostitution in Madison County. Seven of the men were arrested for “aiding and abetting prostitution.” During the operation, the sheriff’s office also recovered a gun, weapons of mass destruction, numerous controlled substances and arrests on charges including child abuse and prostitution. The identities of the arrested individuals were publicly disclosed.