Slidell is a town of about 29,000 residents in the greater New Orleans area, situated to the northeast and about midway between New Orleans and Gulfport, Mississippi, in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. Prostitution and sex trafficking are documented problems in the area, and among other efforts, local law enforcement have attempted to address these problems by targeting consumer-level demand for prostitution.

For example, the St. Tammany Parish Narcotics Task Force, using agents from the Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division and a representative from the Slidell Police Department, conducted a prostitution and illicit drug sting resulting in the arrest of 15 individuals on a variety of prostitution and drug-related charges. According to a STPSO press release, “the operation was based in a hotel near Gause Boulevard and Interstate 10. Three female undercover agents, while walking in nearby parking lots, were approached by suspects soliciting sex for money or attempting to purchase or sell narcotics. The suspects were led back by the decoys to a hotel room where suspects thought the exchanges would be made. An adjacent room in the hotel contained surveillance audio and video equipment and more than a dozen uniformed agents, who entered the undercover room through a common door to make arrests.” Ten of the arrests were men charged with soliciting prostitution from the female decoys. Their names, dates of birth, and addresses were released to the public.