Webb is located in the southeastern corner of the state of Alabama and serves as the government seat of Houston County. The city has a population of approximately 1,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented problems throughout the county. For example, the Dothan Police Department conducts periodic street-level and web-based reverse stings in response to citizen complaints, and make multiple arrests in every operation.

Loss of employment is a consequence of buying sex that has occurred in Houston County in addition to the city of Webb. For example, in May 2016, a Houston County man resigned from working as a corrections officer at the Houston County Jail after an arrest during a Dothan police prostitution sting. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the employee resigned in the wake of his arrest and charge of committing third-degree promoting prostitution. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office had initially suspended the sex buyer and placed him on administrative leave until further review. The sex buyer later resigned. He was one of seven sex buyers arrested on the misdemeanor prostitution charges during the reverse sting. Similarly, in November 2014, the Mayor of Webb resigned after being arrested in an undercover prostitution operation conducted by the Dothan Police Department’s vice division. The Webb mayor’s resignation was accepted during a town hall meeting. The 69-year-old man was among those taken into custody and charged with soliciting prostitution along with twelve other suspects in Dothan. City officials declined to make any comment or statement when asked about the mayor’s arrest and resignation. The council appointed a new mayor to the small community just outside of Dothan. The Dothan Police Department released the names of each suspect, but said due to the nature of the case, investigators would not discuss specifics details regarding the operation.