Orangeburg County, South Carolina has a population of approximately 83,000, and its county seat is the city of Orangeburg. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the county, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is sex trafficking.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. Demand reduction tactics used within the county include reverse stings and the disclosure of sex buyer identities. The Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO)  has collaborated with other local agencies conduct investigations targeting sex buyers. For example, in February 2012,  the OSCO and Orangeburg DPS officers conducted a street-level reverse sting after receiving reports from street officers of suspected prostitution in the Bleakley neighborhood. Using undercover female officers as decoys, Orangeburg police were able to apprehend nine male sex buyers. All were arrested and charged with solicitation.  A similar DPS operation in September 2013 resulted in the arrests of nine additional men; unlike those arrested in 2012, however, the sex buyers apprehended in the latter operation had their identities released to the public. In January 2015, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s deputies announced the arrests of eight male sex buyers after they solicited sex from a female undercover deputy. Although the logistical details of the operation were not disclosed, the arrestees’ identities were publicized. A OCSD representative also reported that five of the eight men also had narcotics in their possession when they were apprehended. In August, 2019, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office assisted in an operation led by by Richland County Sheriff’s Department to arrest online sexual predators and those soliciting prostitution. The sting was a five-day, multi-agency operation that led to the issuance of 28 warrants, including 14 arrested for prostitution, and five arrested for solicitation of or sexual exploitation of a minor.