Rutherford County is a county of about 300,000 residents located in Middle Tennessee, just southeast of Nashville. Its county seat is Murfreesboro. Prostitution and sex trafficking have been well documented within the county. 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. To combat the demand for commercial sex, web-based reverse sting have been conducted in the county. In October 2019, 16 men were arrested in a web-based reverse sting within Rutherford County. The two-day operation was conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office and targeted men who were allegedly seeking sex from minors. Their identities and arrest photos were released to the press. Their charges included solicitation of a minor, trafficking of sexual servitude, trafficking a person for a commercial sex act, attempted aggravated statutory rape, and patronizing prostitution. One man was a former NBA player who allegedly responded to an online escort service advertisement posted by an undercover officer posing as a 16-year-old girl. The man agreed to pay her $170 for access to sexually abuse the minor, and was arrested after arriving at a predetermined location. After the sex buyer had his original charges thrown out in November, the former NBA player was arrested again and indicted on new sex trafficking charges by a Rutherford County Grand Jury in January 2020. He was charged with attempted trafficking for sexual servitude, attempted patronizing prostitution, and three counts of attempted solicitation of a minor.

In October 2021, another two-day operation by the TBI resulted in the arrest of a dozen men, including eight from Rutherford County, who were seeking illicit sex from minors. The investigation was aimed at addressing human trafficking in Middle Tennessee. Law enforcement placed several decoy ads on websites known for prostitution and arrested the men who responded. Their charges included human trafficking for sexual servitude and one charge of simple possession/casual exchange. Their names, birthdates, and hometowns were released to the press. The TBI Human Trafficking Unit, Murfreesboro Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Office of the 16^th District Attorney General, and Tennessee Human Trafficking Task Force assisted in the operation.