Lihue is a census-designated place with approximately 9,000 residents located in Kauai County, HI. Prostitution and sex trafficking are well-documented problems on the island, including within Lihue. Among the more serious issues associated with the area’s commercial sex market have been a homicide committed by a woman in prostitution against her cousin and the sexual […]
Liberty is a city of approximately 8,500 residents, located 40 miles northeast of Houston in Texas. It is the county seat of Liberty County. Prostitution activity has been well-documented within the city for decades, and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to Liberty Police Department from residents. Consumer level demand provides the […]
Leyden Township is a community of approximately 91,000 residents, located northwest of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Prostitution has been a persistent and visible problem in the Mannheim Road area for years. In an effort to identify and apprehend sex buyers, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office has incorporated the use of street-level reverse stings. Police […]
Lexington Park is a census-designated place of approximately 13,000 residents, located in St. Mary’s County in southern Maryland. Prostitution is known to have generated numerous complaints to the police from local residents. The sex trafficking of minors has also been well documented locally. For example, in December, 2014, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Vice/Narcotics […]
Lexington is a city of approximately 322,000 residents, located in Fayette County in northeast Kentucky. It is the state’s second-largest city. Street prostitution and indoor prostitution rings (including multi-state sex trafficking rings) have presented persistent and severe problems in the area for decades. Consumer level demand provides the revenue stream for all prostitution and sex […]
Lewiston is a city of about 36,000 residents, located in southern Maine between Portland and Augusta along Interstate 95, in Androscoggin County. Community members have complained about burgeoning prostitution activity for decades, with cases of commercial sex and sex trafficking dating back to at least 1980. Among the problems associated with the local commercial sex market was […]
Lewis County in Southwestern Washington of approximately 84,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking are thoroughly documented problems within the county. This activity and its ancillary crimes have generated complaints to local law enforcement from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes associated with the county’s commercial sex market are child sex trafficking and the […]
Leominster is a city of approximately 42,000 residents, located 20 miles north of Worcester in central Massachusetts. Cases of prostitution and sex trafficking have been well-documented in the city, along with violence occurring within the sex trade. For example, in 2013 a man faced several charges for allegedly holding his girlfriend captive in a motel […]
Lenexa is a city of approximately 59,000 residents, located in northeast Kansas. Prostitution activity has been well-documented in the city and surrounding communities, and in unincorporated areas of Johnson County. This activity and the problems and ancillary crimes it generates results in complaints to law enforcement agencies from residents and businesses. Among the more serious crimes […]
Leesburg is a city of approximately 23,000 residents, located in central Florida’s Lake County, roughly equidistant between Ocala and Orlando. Prostitution activity, occurring both at street level and within adult-oriented businesses, has been documented in the community for several years. Cases of forced prostitution – or sex trafficking – have also been reported. In October […]
Demand Forum is powered by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and directed by Dr. Michael Shively, NCOSE's Senior Advisor on Research and Data Analysis. It was originally developed by Dr. Shively and Abt Associates with grant support from the National Institute of Justice. In January 2020 the website transferred to NCOSE. In January 2021, work began on a new grant from NIJ (#2020-75-CX-0011) to update and expand the content presented on Demand Forum.
