Whittier is a city of approximately 85,000 residents, located 12 miles southeast of Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, CA. Instances of prostitution have been documented for decades. The first case in which a sex buyer was arrested in addition to a prostituted woman in Whittier was in 1976. Their identities and ages were released by local media outlets.

To combat growing commercial sex sales in the area, the Whittier Police Department has periodically conducted reverse stings. One such operation, conducted in early 2008, saw officers take over a massage parlor that served as a brothel. Police then replaced employees with undercover female officers and installed surveillance systems to intercept male sex buyers. As the men attempted to solicit sex from undercover officers, they were apprehended by police. A total of 14 male sex buyers were arrested. Their identities were not released to the public.