Spring is a census-designated-place of approximately 60,970 residents, located north of Houston near Humble in Harris County, Texas. Like many communities in the county, Spring residents and law enforcement officials have reported problems with street and business-based prostitution.

To address the issue, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office has conducted at least two reverse stings in Spring. A web-based operation, conducted in May 2013, placed decoy advertisements soliciting sex on a website known for supporting prostitution activity. Undercover female sheriff’s deputies then posed as “escorts” and arranged to meet johns who responded to the listings at an undisclosed location in Spring, “off Interstate 45 North and Beltway 8.” Following the investigation, each of the men arrested had their names, mugshots and other identifying information publicized in local media outlets.

In early February 2016, HCSO officers staged a street-level reversal in the county that netted the arrests of up to 11 johns in the Spring area. Media outlets reported that men were intercepted after soliciting a female law enforcement officer posing as a “street-level prostitute.” The exact location of the sting was not disclosed, though media reported that the operation was staged in northwest Harris County in response to community complaints about prostitution activity occurring in “the area of I-45 and Cypresswood” and near Spring High School. The names and mugshots of the 11 men arrested during the county’s investigation were released to the public in the days that followed, though it was not clear how many of the offenders were intercepted in Spring specifically. Media reported that one of the johns had a 4-year-old with him at the time of his arrest.