Olympia, the capital of Washington state and county seat of Thurston County, WA, is located at the southern end of Puget Sound, and has a population of approximately 56,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented problems in the city and surrounding areas. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious problems associated with commercial sex in the area include child sex trafficking. Examples include the following: In 2008, Tumwater police raided a suspected brothel, arresting five women ages 19 to 34, after two of the women agreed to engage in commercial sex acts with an undercover officer in exchange for $440. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of a felony charge of leading organized crime, and forwarded the case to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. During the four-month investigation, Tumwater police and the Washington State Patrol conducted video surveillance of men going in and out of the apartment for short periods. In March 2012, two women were arrested for prostitution while working at a Foot Massage business on Martin Way (they entered not guilty pleas in Thurston County District Court). In November 2014, two men were arrested in Tumwater for trafficking two runaways, according to the Washington State Patrol. A 19-year-old Olympia man and a 25-year-old male transient were arrested and held in the Thurston County Jail for third-degree child rape and first-degree promoting prostitution. Detectives from the Washington State Patrol Missing and Exploited Children’s Task Force began investigating the two men after another state agency reported that two runaways were being sex trafficked. Detectives found one of the runaways, a 15-year-old girl, who said that the suspects had repeatedly sexually assaulted her, and that one of the suspects was trying to “pimp her out.” Undercover detectives found and arrested the two suspects in Tumwater and also found another 16-year-old runaway, who corroborated the first victim’s statement.

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking within the county, the Olympia Police Department, often in collaboration with other local and statewide law enforcement agencies, has targeted consumer-level demand for commercial sex, which provides the revenue stream driving all commercial sex and trafficking. For example, in September 2016, over 20 people were arrested in a Washington State Patrol web-based reverse sting in Thurston County. Undercover detectives posted decoy ads online, posing as a mother seeking to sexually exploit her three underage children by arranging meetings with respondents. Many arrests were made at a local apartment complex in Tumwater. One child sex predator was arrested in Tumwater after driving from his home in Moses Lake to meet three underage children for sex. He had responded to one of the decoy ads posted by detectives, of an “incest family,” where undercover detectives posed as a mother with a 13-year-old son and two daughters, ages 6 and 11. The man was charged in Thurston County Superior Court on two counts of first-degree attempted rape of a child, one count of second-degree attempted rape of a child, and one count of commercial sexual abuse of a minor. The other suspects faced attempted rape of a child charges because they arrived at the home having arranged to have sex with a child. One offender was arrested after agreeing to meet an 11-year-old girl and sexually exploit her in exchange for money. The suspects represent a range of ages and backgrounds. Another offender was arrested after agreeing to meet sexually exploit all three children, ages 13, 11 and 6 in exchange for money. The majority of the suspects had no prior criminal history. Most of the suspects have appeared in Thurston County Superior Court and all have been prohibited from contacting minors. The case was investigated with assistance from the Washington State Patrol’s (WSP) Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF), Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, Olympia Police Department, Tumwater Police Department, Lacey Police Department, Shelton Police Department, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Washington State Dept. of Corrections, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, Washington State Office of the Attorney General, Thurston County Narcotic Task Force,  U. S. Army, Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

In February, 2019, the Washington State Patrol (WSP) and several partner agencies, including the Olympia Police Department, Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force, announced the arrest of 22 dangerous sexual predators who targeted children in Thurston County, during a multi-day “Operation Net Nanny” event. From February 15, 2019, to February 20, 2019, undercover law enforcement officers in Thurston County used various websites on the internet and phone applications to communicate with people interested in sexually exploiting children in exchange for money. The operation generated hundreds of responses. The perpetrators who were arrested over the five day operation traveled to meet with the undercover detectives posing as underage girls and boys with the intent to engage in sexual abuse of children as young as six years old. The names of the individuals arrested during the operation were included in a news release by the WSP. This was the 15th operation spearheaded by the WSP’s Missing and Exploited Children Task Force (MECTF), an Internet Crimes Against Children affiliate. Since the original operation in 2015, MECTF has netted a total of 246 arrests and rescued more than 30 children from sexual exploitation. The funding for the operation was made possible due in part by support from the public as well as a donation from Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). O.U.R. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) who shares the mission of law enforcement agencies to save children and see that child predators are arrested and prosecuted.