Westley is a census-designated place in Stanislaus County, located in the Central Valley area of California. The population is under 700, and it is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Prostitution has been a serious problem in the area for decades, with recent activities concentrated in the cities of Modesto and Turlock, but also in smaller towns such as Westley, Salida, and unincorporated areas. Child sex trafficking is also well documented within the county.

To address these issues, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department has incorporated the use of several demand-reduction tactics to identify and apprehend sex buyers. In their efforts, the SCSD has routinely conducted street-level reverse stings, at times collaborating with officers from local police departments. Operations typically utilize undercover female officers who pose as decoys. Law enforcement has also conducted operations targeting online human trafficking. In Stanislaus County, “Operation Reclaim & Rebuild” for 2019 was conducted in late January and resulted in the arrests of 33 individuals over a three-day period. The operation was conducted at motels in Modesto, Westley, and Turlock. Law enforcement officers contacted various websites commonly used for the purposes of prostitution and set up meetings. The identities of the arrested sex buyers were disclosed in news releases. Agencies participating in the operation were the following: Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, Turlock Police Department, Patterson Police Services, Riverbank Police Services, Waterford Police Services, Stanislaus Probation Department, Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, and Haven Women’s Center of Stanislaus.