Plattsburgh is a city of just under 20,000 residents located in the northeastern corner of New York state. It is the county seat of Clinton County and sits on the northwestern shore of Lake Champlain. Law enforcement has occasionally taken steps to reduce the demand for commercial sex locally. In October 2016, New York State Police arrested ten men on solicitation charges following an undercover investigation. Though the details of the sting were not made public, an NYSP representative reported that those arrested had “allegedly approached and negotiated to have sexual contact for money with women they believed were prostitutes but were actually undercover investigators.” Following their arrests, the men’s identities were publicized in select media outlets.

In April 2017, two men were arrested in a sting that was part of an ongoing prostitution investigation. Both were charged with patronizing a prostitute and scheduled to reappear at the Plattsburgh Town Court. The names, ages, and hometowns of the men were released publicly. The operation was a joint effort between New York State Police and the Clinton County District Attorney.

In addition to those reverse stings, there has been at least one opportunistic arrest of a sex buyer in Plattsburgh. In March 2015, state police pulled a woman over for driving an uninspected vehicle. She admitted that she was intending to meet someone at a nearby hotel to have sex for money. The woman was charged with prostitution, and the man she intended to meet was charged with third-degree patronizing a prostitute. They were both issued appearance tickets for Plattsburgh Town Court. The sex buyer’s name, age, and hometown were released to the press.