Maryville is a city of just under 32,000 residents, situated in Blount County in eastern Tennessee near Alcoa. Prostitution is a well-documented problem locally and generates complaints to police from residents and businesses. On at least one occasion, attempted sex buyers have been arrested during local sting investigations.

In late October 2016, the Blount County Sheriff’s Department and Maryville and Alcoa Police Departments staged a sting at a local motel. Four women were arrested and charged with prostitution during the investigation, as were two men on charges of patronizing prostitution. The logistics of the sting– specifically, if and how the attempted sex buyers were targeted for arrest by law enforcement– were not disclosed. Following the investigation, all of the arrestees’ names, ages, and arrest photos were publicized in the press. In July 2019, a web-based reverse sting was conducted in Alcoa and surrounding areas in East Tennessee, resulting in the arrest of four men. Authorities placed decoy advertisements on websites known to be used for prostitution and commercial sex. Their goal was to identify people seeking to buy sex with females under the age of 18, as well as individuals engaged in trafficking others for commercial sex acts. The TBI, Alcoa Police Department, Blount County Sheriff’s Office, Maryville Police Department, and 5th Judicial Drug Task Force were all involved in the operation.