Stillwater is a city of about 48,000 residents in north-central Oklahoma, situated along the Interstate 35 corridor and about equidistant from Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It is the largest city and county seat of Payne County, OK. Prostitution and sex trafficking are known to occur in incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county. This activity and its ancillary crimes have generated complaints to police by residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the local commercial sex market are sex trafficking of adults and minors, child endangerment, and violence against individuals in the commercial sex industry.

Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex trafficking, and has therefore been targeted by local law enforcement agencies as a strategy for prevention and response. For example, in November 2013, during a two-day sting operation targeting both prostituted persons and sex buyers, 26 people were arrested and charged with prostitution offenses; 15 male sex buyers and 10 prostituted persons. Arrested offenders ranged in age from 19 to 66 years old, the 26 arrestees faced charges including prostitution, solicitation of prostitution, pandering, and aiding and abetting prostitution. Some arrestees were charged with additional, non-prostitution related offenses, including accessing a computer to violate state statutes, possession of marijuana; resisting arrest; public intoxication; possession of drug paraphernalia; and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. The Payne County Sheriff’s Office and the Perkins Police Department assisted the “Special Projects Unit” of the Stillwater Police Department and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics during the two-day operations.

An article in December 2013, stated that an additional six men were arrested during a prostitution sting in Stillwater. The men were charged with soliciting prostitution after allegedly placing money on a countertop at a Stillwater hotel in exchange for sex. In July 2016, a web-based reverse sting conducted in Stillwater resulted in the arrest of four men on suspicion of soliciting a minor for prostitution – a felony offense. Prostitution offenses in the county are punishable as misdemeanors with jail time of up to one year or a fine of up to $2,500 or both, and required community service of up to 80 hours if convicted. We are not certain if the community service provision is actually applied to sex buyers or prostituted persons, or if any convicted persons actually see jail time or maximum fines.

Prostitution offenses in Stillwater are punishable as misdemeanors with jail time of up to one year or a fine of up to $2,500 or both, and required community service of up to 80 hours if convicted.  We are not certain if the community service provision is actually applied to sex buyers or prostituted persons, or if any convicted persons actually see jail time or maximum fines.