Neenah is a city of about 27,500 residents located in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, approximately forty miles southwest of Green Bay. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities.  This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses.

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking in the area, local law enforcement agencies have targeted consumer-level demand for commercial sex, which provides the revenue stream driving all commercial sex and trafficking. For example, in March, 2018 police arrested five men for soliciting prostitution at a motel during a reverse sting. An undercover deputy with the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office placed advertisements for commercial sex on Craigslist and Backpage, and the men who responded and arrived at the motel to complete the transaction were arrested.  The men ranged in age from 27 to 68 years old and were from Neenah, Oshkosh, Dale and Kiel. They were booked in the Winnebago County Jail on a misdemeanor charge of “patronizing a prostitute” and were released. Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office reported that the March operation was the second prostitution sting the sheriff’s office had conducted in 2018, and the first netted six arrests.