Sutter County is located in the Central Valley region of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was approximately 100,000, and the county seat is Yuba City. Sutter County is included in the Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Sacramento–Roseville, CA Combined Statistical Area. Prostitution, sex trafficking, and the rape and murder of prostituted persons have been well-documented in Sutter County.  For example, in 2016 a Yuba City man who had previously been sentenced to state prison for paid sexual abuse of a minor was charged with raping a prostituted woman, according to court records. In December 2016, three men were charged with a human trafficking case in which they kidnapped a woman in Yuba City, and took her to Antioch against her will with the intent to force her into commercial sex for their profit. Among the serious crimes associated with local commercial sex is the homicide of prostituted women, including one targeted by a serial killer who was charged with the murders of four women in the 1970s and 1990s, including one in Sutter County.

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 August 2016 a reverse sting operation conducted by the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies resulted in nearly 40 men taken into custody by police for attempted sexual abuse acts with a minor. The operation began in February 2016 with a series of fake Facebook profiles and Craigslist ads that suggested children were available to purchase for sexual abuse. The men who responded engaged in chats and other exchanges they thought were with a 14-year-old girl or a 13-year-old boy. The conversations in the sting operation quickly escalated to sex, and meetings were arranged.  Those appearing and showing intent to follow through were arrested, and the suspects were held at Sutter County Jail on a number of charges. The operation involved the Sutter County District Attorney’s office, West Sacramento Police Department, Yolo District Attorney’s office, Yuba City Police Department, Sutter County Sheriff’s Office, Beale Air Force Base, Yuba County Probation Department, and Sutter County Probation Department.In March 2018 a reverse sting operation was conducted that resulted in the arrest of at least two men who were booked in to the Sutter County Jail on charges of prostitution.  The D.A.’s office was assisted by personnel from the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office, Yuba City Police along with the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office and Colusa County D.A. The Sutter County District Attorney’s office at the time announced plans to continue these operations in the future in an attempt to reduce the overwhelming demand of Human Trafficking/prostitution in Sutter County and within its communities, such as Yuba City.