Town ‘N’ Country, FL

Tactics Used

Auto Seizure
Buyer Arrests
Cameras
Community Service
Employment Loss
Identity Disclosure
IT Based Tactics
John School
Letters
License Suspension
Neighborhood Action
Public Education
Reverse Stings
SOAP Orders
Web Stings

Town ‘N’ Country is a census-designated place of almost 90,000 residents in Hillsborough County, located in central western Florida just west of Tampa.

In July 2019, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover reverse sting operation in Town ‘N’ Country that resulted in the arrest of eight men. About 25 men contacted the undercover deputies during the daylong operation. The arrested sex buyers had their identities released to the press. Their charges included soliciting another to commit prostitution, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and possession of drug paraphernalia. One of the men had a young child in the back seat of his car while he solicited for a sexual act. He was arrested and charged with soliciting another to commit prostitution and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and the HCSO Child Protective Investigations Division took custody of the child. The Hillsborough Sheriff said of the operation:

“To put an end to sex trafficking and identify victims of human trafficking, it’s very clear that something needs to be done about the buyers. Without buyers, there is no business. For each [one] we take off of our streets, we believe we are potentially protecting a human trafficking victim.”

In October 2020, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office conducted another sting operation in Tampa and Town ‘N’ Country that resulted in the arrest of 49 sex buyers over two days. Undercover female deputies posed as prostituted women on the streets and through internet ads. More than 200 men contacted law enforcement online, while about 40 additional men approached undercover law enforcement in Tampa and Town ‘N’ Country.

Key Partners

  • Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office
    • HCSO Child Protective Investigations Division
State Florida
Type City
Population 89791
Location
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