Mount Jackson, VA

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Mount Jackson is a town of less than 2,000 residents, located in Shenandoah County, Virginia near Winchester. In 2014, law enforcement officials in the town reported an increase in prostitution activity and in response, in March 2014, officers conducted an anti-prostitution operation that resulted in the arrest of “half a dozen” individuals for prostitution-related offenses. According to reports, “the operation involved the use of a confidential informant who advertised services on an internet website,” but the SCSO “would not disclose the name of the website nor explain where the suspected [sex buyers] would know to look for these services. The suspects then contacted the female informant and  set up a time for their rendezvous. When the suspects arrived at the hotel, law enforcement agents moved in to make the arrests.” The identities of all but one of the sex buyers (a Winchester public official) were not disclosed to the public initially, but in May 2014, they were reported for the men who pleaded “no contest” to the charges. In April 2014, the identities of another set of prostitution arrestees were released to the public.  The sex buyers who pleaded no contest were sentenced to six months suspended jail term, one year unsupervised probation, and a $500 fine. Participating in the operation were the Mount Jackson, New Market, and Winchester Police Departments, with support from the Shenandoah County Sheriff Office’s Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task Force.

A local law enforcement respondent to the 2022 National Assessment Survey reported that sex buyer arrests and community service for those arrested have been used in Mount Jackson since 2018.

Key Partners

  • Mount Jackson Police Department
  • New Market Police Department
  • Winchester Police Department
  • Shenandoah County Sheriff’s Office
    • Northwest Virginia Regional Drug Task Force
State Virginia
Type City
Population 1978
Location
Comments are closed.