Oxford is a town in Oxford County, Maine, with a population of approximately 4,200 at the 2020 census. Oxford County occupies a long stretch of the state’s western border with Vermont, up to the Canadian border.  The town draws tourists and other visitors to the Oxford Plains Speedway, the annual Oxford County Fair, and the Oxford Casino, as well as for seasonal outdoor activities. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in the county, and that activity 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, and violence associated with involvement in prostitution has also been documented.  For example, in March 2019, prosecutors said that an alleged victim in a sex trafficking case who was scheduled to testify against her fiance was found dead. The Sun Journal reported that the Assistant District Attorney for the county dismissed the felony sex trafficking charge filed against the suspect following the woman’s death. Maine State Police said that the body of the 38-year-old woman was found in Oxford County.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and demand reduction tactics have been used in the town (as well as in other areas of Oxford County). For example, in March, 2023, a man was arrested on a charge of “engaging a prostitute” at 151 Main St., Oxford, by Oxford Police Department officers.

Local police have also participated in demand reduction operations outside of the town.  For example, in June 2019, six men were arrested in a reverse sting in Oxford County. The men made arrangements online through a website set up by law enforcement and were arrested after showing up at an undisclosed Oxford County hotel. Those arrested were brought to Oxford County Jail, where they were processed, charged, and released on $500 unsecured bail. The men were each charged with soliciting a prostitute, and their identities included in news releases. Soliciting a prostitute is a Class E crime punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.  Participating agencies included Oxford Police Department, Rumford Police Department, Lisbon Police Department, Auburn Police Department, Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, Maine State Police, Maine Department of Corrections, FBI Human Trafficking Task Force, Department of Homeland Security and the District Attorney’s Office.