Santa Fe is a city of approximately 88,000 residents, located in Santa Fe County, in Northern New Mexico. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been documented in the city and surrounding communities. However, according to police, the commercial sex market has shifted from occurring on the streets to primarily occurring online. The online commercial sex market in area is reportedly facilitated by access to websites and social media applications, according to local law enforcement. This activity and its ancillary crimes have resulted in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Police have also reported that drugs are commonly used as an exchange for sex acts or present during commercial sex transactions. Among the more serious problems is child sex trafficking. For example, in a 2019 investigative piece by the Santa Fe Reporter, interviews with law enforcement agency personnel, victim advocates, survivors, and reviews of sex trafficking cases, found sex trafficking to be “rampant across New Mexico,”  with individuals being sex trafficked online, in motel rooms, massage parlors, casinos, truck stops, and at camps set up to house oil and gas workers.

Santa Fe police have also arrested individuals for online sexual exploitation of minors and possessing, creating and/or distributing child sex abuse material (CSAM). For example, in 2016, two Santa Fe County men were arrested as part of a two-month nationwide investigation face multiple charges of sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material, called Operation Broken Heart III. Additionally in 2016, a 24-year-old Santa Fe man was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of visual medium of sexual exploitation of children 13 to 18 years-old and four counts of manufacturing visual medium of sexual exploitation of children. Court records show he’s also charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, reckless driving and resisting or evading an officer. According to reports, the man had taken sexually explicit photos of underage girls and uploaded them online at two local Walgreens stores. The man had emailed one of the Walgreens stores nine sexually explicit photos, with the intention of picking up the prints later. He also uploaded sexually explicit photos online at the second Walgreens location. Police used this evidence and surveillance videos from both locations, to execute arrest and search warrants at the suspect’s residence. In addition to making the arrest, officers additionally seized 161 photos, “electronic devices,” a camera, and a marijuana, all of which were found in the home. He was arrested on

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking in the area, local law enforcement agencies have targeted individuals seeking to purchase commercial sex, and more recently law enforcement has focused on individuals seeking to sexually exploit children in exchange for money. For example, in February 2012, Santa Fe police arrested a man at a local apartment to sexually exploit a 15-year-old girl in exchange for money. The suspect was a state worker and married father of five, who had been chatting with a girl who he thought was 15, but was actually an undercover decoy with Santa Fe Police Department’s Crimes Against Children Unit. The man was charged with two counts of child solicitation by electronic device, one count of aggravated battery on a police officer and five counts of aggravated assault on a police officer. That same month, at least four other men were arrested on charges of soliciting a minor during the department’s month-long sting operation, and a total of 10 arrest warrants were issued for men suspected of soliciting sex from minors.

In October 2021, five people were arrested during an underage sex trafficking sting conducted by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It involved posting a decoy profile for a 15-year-old girl on the escort website. BCSO said five men showed up as arranged at a local hotel, cash in hand, to find the supposed teen was actually an undercover detective. One of the men worked for the New Mexico Department of Health as a manager for a program serving people with developmental disabilities. The department said the sex buyer had been placed on leave and locked out of his email, as the department conducts its own investigation.