Oswego is a city of approximately 16,000 residents and is the county seat of Oswego County, New York. The city is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York. Prostitution and sexual exploitation have been documented in the area, including a case in which a landlord was sued for sexual harassment after coercing tenants into sex by threatening them with homelessness. At least one known incident of police arresting an alleged sex buyer has occurred.

In December 2020, a man was arrested for attempting to buy sex from a prostituted person. The investigation began in September after a resident called the Oswego Police Department to report a man exposing himself while leaning on a car with another person inside. The informant provided police with video and photographs of the car, which they used to identify the owner and female victim, who confirmed that the man did solicit her to engage in oral sex for money. The man was arrested and charged with public lewdness and patronizing a prostitute. His name, age, and hometown were released to the press. The man was a prominent landlord in Oswego and Morrisville and owned Sylvan Beach Amusement Park, Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole, and the Renaissance Festival in Sterling. He had previously settled two sexual harassment lawsuits spanning 30 years. The lawsuits were brought forward by 50 former tenants who told Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers that he coerced them into sex by threatening them with homelessness. The DOJ said the man had consistently violated the 2019 agreement, which included paying $850,000 and staying away from tenants at his 100 rental properties.