Skamania County is a county of approximately 12,000 residents located in Washington state. The county seat and largest incorporated city is Stevenson, WA. Prostitution and sex trafficking activity have been well-documented in its incorporated communities and in unincorporated areas of the county. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market is child sex trafficking.

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking in the area, local law enforcement agencies have targeted consumer-level demand for commercial sex, which provides the revenue stream driving all commercial sex and trafficking. Sex buyers have been arrested and prosecuted in the county. For example, in 2012, an investigation into a deputy prosecutor with the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office was initiated after officials received complaints of domestic violence from the deputy’s ex-girlfriend. Although the allegations of domestic violence were found to be unfounded, officials discovered emails between the Clark County deputy prosecutor and prostituted women on his cellphone, which was seized during the initial investigation. According to reports, the offender had responded to ads on websites known for prostitution and engaged in commercial sex. Through the email threads on the deputy prosecutor’s phone, officials discovered that he had solicited sex from at least four prostituted women. The suspected sex buyer initially denied allegations against him, he eventually confessed to soliciting sex from four prostituted women, two in Vancouver, WA and two in Portland, OR. The confession was video taped by officials. Once learning of the allegations against the deputy prosecutor, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office immediately placed him on administrative leave. The sex buyer resigned from his position with the prosecutor’s office on June 8th, 2012, about two weeks after being placed on administrative leave. To avoid conflict of interest, the case was prosecuted by the Skamania County Prosecutor’s Office. In August 2012, a Skamania County judge and agreed to allow the former deputy prosecutor to complete the standard treatment for first-time misdemeanor offenders. In order to have the charge dismissed, the sex buyer was required to pay a $350 find, perform 24 hours of community service, receive counseling, and remain crime-free for a year.