Vassar is a city in Tuscola County in eastern Michigan, near Saginaw. Its population is roughly 3,000. Prostitution and sex trafficking in the area are well-documented problems. For example, one victim reported that she was 14 the first time she was sexually abused by a stranger for money. An ex-boyfriend, who acted as a pimp (sex trafficker) for other young girls, recruited her. Her base rate was $250, and sometimes her traffickers would instruct her to charge extra — $500 or more — because “men who like to have sex with children are willing to pay a premium.”

Demand reduction tactics have been employed in Vassar. For example, in March 2022 it was announced that at least 11 male sex buyers had been arrested during a four-month operation by the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST). One of the arrested men was a former police officer and (at the time of his arrest) was an assistant principal at Vassar Public Schools. The man brought his police badge from Vassar and the village of Oxford to the sting. The offender was immediately terminated from his school position the morning following the investigation. His identity was publicly disclosed in news reports.