Mount Vernon is a city of approximately 17,000 residents and is the county seat of Knox County, Ohio, located northeast of Columbus. On at least one occasion, local law enforcement have launched an investigation to identify and arrest individuals attempting to purchase sex.

In early June 2015, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a Mount Vernon resident following a web sting. The man reportedly placed an online listing offering money for sex. An undercover KCSO officer responded to the listing, posing as a minor female offering commercial sex. The sex buyer was arrested after “engag[ing] in e-mail correspondence for several days” with the decoy, and arranging to pay her $60 for sex acts. Following his arrest, the man’s identity, arrest photo, and the charges leveled against him were released to the public. In October 2015, the Mount Vernon News reported that the man had been found guilty of compelling prostitution, a third-degree felony, and was awaiting sentencing.