Rockland is a town of approximately 17,500 residents, located on Massachusetts’ South Shore in Plymouth County near Brockton and Bridgewater. In its efforts to reduce local prostitution, the Rockland Police Department has conducted stings targeting sex buyers. In 2008, RPD officers responded to an online ad for sex and arrested two women at a Rockland hotel. Officers then initiated an ad hoc reverse sting, wherein a female officer answered the cell phone they recovered from the women and continued to set up appointments with sex buyers. Eight male customers were arrested as a result; all of their names were publicized by local media outlets.

In August, 2021, a web-based reverse sting resulted in the arrest of five men, whose names were also released in news reports.  Investigators posted a commercial sex advertisement online, with a female officer posing as an escort. A Rockland hotel was used as the meeting place. The Massachusetts State Police, Plymouth County Sheriffs Office, Rockland Police Department, and the Boston Police Human Trafficking Task Force set up the sting.