St. Augustine Beach is a small coastal city of fewer than 10,000 residents, located just south of St. Augustine in St. Johns County near Palatka, Florida. On at least one occasion, law enforcement has launched an investigation aimed at curtailing local demand for commercial sex.

In August 2014, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with the St. Augustine Beach Police Department, conducted a four-day reverse sting targeting individuals attempting to solicit prostitution on a “social media site.” The operation was reportedly staged at a St. Augustine Beach hotel and was driven by “numerous complaints” about a spike in web-based solicitation in the area. The sting was staged in two parts and targeted both sex buyers and sellers. Eight sex buyers were arrested as a result, as were six women for offering acts of prostitution. All of the individuals’ identities, as well as the charges levied against them, were disclosed by the SJCSO in a press release following their arrests.