Montevideo is a city of about 5,000 residents in southwestern Minnesota and is the county seat of Chippewa County. Prostitution and sex trafficking have not been well-documented within the city, but there has been a case in which a local man was arrested in a neighboring town for attempting to solicit sex from a minor, as well as a separate case of a local man creating and distributing child sexual abuse materials (i.e., child pornography).

At least one web-based reverse sting operation has occurred in the city. In December 2016, two sex buyers were arrested in a web-based reverse sting conducted by the Montevideo Police Department in collaboration with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Pope County Sheriff’s Department, Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Department, and the CEEVI Drug and Gang Task Force. Officers posed as prostituted persons online by posting ads on Craigslist and making arrangements with people to trade sex for money. More than 29 people inquired about the advertisement via text or email, including seven who asked about having sex with minors. Two men were arrested after agreeing to pay $40 and $50, respectively, for sex with an adult woman and showing up at a Montevideo hotel where an officer had set up video surveillance. The two men were charged with solicitation of prostitution in a public place, a gross misdemeanor. One man was also charged with misdemeanor driving with a suspended license and possessing marijuana. Their names, ages, and hometowns were released to the press. Law enforcement also seized their vehicles.