Willoughby is a city in Lake County, located in northern Ohio near Cleveland, and has a population of approximately 24,000 residents. Prostitution is a documented problem in the city and has been linked to other crimes. In one case, a man fleeing a prostitution sting assaulted an officer and rammed a police vehicle with his own.

In February 2013, Willoughby Police Department officers targeted sex buyers for arrest by conducting a web-based reverse sting. Officers placed an online ad featuring a 20-year-old woman offering prostitution and arrested 12 men who responded and appeared at a hotel to buy sex. The men were between 26 and 64 years of age and were from cities like Beachwood, Rocky River, North Royalton, Hudson, and Mentor, to name a few. All were charged with misdemeanor solicitation. The names, ages, and mugshots of the men arrested were publicly released in the weeks following the operation.