Tehama County is a county of about 64,000 residents in northern California, almost 80 miles north of Yuba City. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Prostitution and sex trafficking, including child sex trafficking, have occurred in the county. For example, in April 2022, two men were arrested following an investigation into child sex trafficking after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified the Red Bluff Police Department (RBPD) that a missing teenager from Oregon was being trafficked in the area.

To combat prostitution and sex trafficking in the area, local law enforcement agencies have targeted consumer-level demand for commercial sex, which provides the revenue stream driving all commercial sex and trafficking. In January 2013, the Tehama County District Attorney’s Office announced the arrest of 26 people during a three-month undercover operation known as “Wicked Web.” The operation targeted people using the Internet for criminal activity and was a proactive approach to fighting crime in Tehama County. Those arrested included two men posing as tutors to meet minors for sex, a man who had federal child pornography charges pending, and a minor victim of sex trafficking. A total of 13 men were arrested on charges of meeting a minor for sex or solicitation for prostitution. Drugs and weapons were also seized as part of the operation. The identities of the men and their criminal charges were included in news reports.