North Ridgeville is a city located along the eastern border of Lorain County, Ohio. The city’s population is roughly 36,000, and it is a suburb of Cleveland. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented problems within the city and the region. For example, law enforcement officials arrested two Lorain County men after an investigation into possible human trafficking in Northfield Village. One man was arrested and charged with promoting prostitution, a fourth-degree felony, according to a news release from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office. In another operation, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Ohio Investigations Unit, and the Northfield Village Police Department conducted an investigation into potential human trafficking in Northfield. Officials made contact with 18 people including those from Canton, Cleveland, and Las Vegas.

To address problems associated with commercial sex, demand-reduction tactics have been among those employed locally. For example, in March 2021, a joint operation of the Lorain County Prosecutor’s Office and the regional human trafficking task force was conducted at a local motel and resulted in several arrests. One man was charged with soliciting prostitution. While surveilling the motel for possible prostitution activity, a man was seen dropping off a woman who had promised to engage in sexual conduct with an undercover police officer, and an additional person was arrested for prostitution.