Orem is a community in Utah, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City along Interstate 15, near Provo. Orem has a population of roughly 98,000. Prostitution activity, as well as cases of solicitation and the commercial sexual exploitation of minors, have been reported in the community for more than 40 years.

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. In an effort to reduce the demand for prostitution, the Orem Police Department has conducted web-based reverse stings since at least 2009. OPD officers have, at times, used surveillance cameras to collect evidence during stings and other anti-prostitution operations. The identities of arrested sex buyers are not typically publicized in the press. Since 1993, Utah law has stated that anyone convicted of prostitution or patronizing a prostitute must “submit to a mandatory test to determine if the offender is an HIV-positive individual. The mandatory test shall be required and conducted prior to sentencing.”