Ontario County is a county of approximately 113,000 residents in western New York. It is located approximately 30 miles southeast of Rochester, with its county seat in Canandaigua. Prostitution has been a well-documented problem in the county and generates complaints from residents and businesses. Among the tactics used to address the problem are those focused on combating demand.

In February 2018, six sex buyers were arrested in a multi-jurisdictional prostitution sting involving Canandaigua Police and the Ontario County Sheriff’s Office. Few details were released about the operation, but police acknowledged the arrestees offered to pay for sex. Investigators said three men offered a woman cash in exchange for sex on separate occasions. The remaining three approached the female police decoy as a group and offered her cash in exchange for group sex. They were issued appearance tickets and released to return later to Canandaigua Town Court. The identities of those arrested were publicly released by police.