Mount Vernon is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia. Its population was approximately 13,500 at the 2020 census. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented problems in many areas of county, including the city of Mount Vernon.  For example, in 2012, federal law enforcement agencies charged five alleged members of a Fairfax County street gang with running a prostitution and sex trafficking ring that recruited high school girls and threatened them with violence if they didn’t cooperate. The FBI and local police have found national gangs to have diversified their crime portfolios, and have systematically expanded from tradition drug trafficking to prostitution and sex trafficking.  To combat consumer-level demand for commercial sex that drive both of those crime types, the Mount Vernon Police Department and the Fairfax County Police Departments have conducted reverse stings and disclosed the identities of the arrested sex buyers.  Police have also sent “dear john” letters to the homes of arrestees.