Summerville is a town of roughly 51,000 residents, located in South Carolina’s Berkeley County and Charleston County, near Ladson. Prostitution activity has been reported in the town for over 25 years. It has also been linked to at least one serial rapist who specifically targeted women in prostitution. The offender reportedly picked up women in high-stroll areas of North Charleston, brought them to locations in Summerville and Ladson, and sexually assaulted them.

In their efforts to reduce the size and scope of the county’s prostitution market, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office has conducted reverse stings within the community. For example, in October 2015, BCSO officers announced the arrests of 14 individuals following undercover prostitution and narcotics investigations in Summerville and Ladson. Among those arrested were seven men for soliciting prostitution. All of the arrestees’ names and mugshots were publicized in press. The logistical details of the stings– including which of the two communities in which each of the offenders were arrested– were not disclosed.

In April 2022, seven men were arrested in and around hotels and motels in Summerville during a statewide prostitution sting led by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), in collaboration with municipal police from Summerville. The identities of the arrested sex buyers were publicly disclosed.