Brunswick is a city of approximately 15,000 residents, situated in southeastern Georgia’s Glynn County, near Savannah and north of Jacksonville, Florida. Reports of prostitution activity in the community date back decades and have generated complaints from business owners and local residents. At least one serial rapist who targeted sexually exploited women has also operated in the city.

To reduce prostitution and sex trafficking in the city, the Glynn/Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team has conducted periodic reverse stings since at least 2004. Operations are conducted at the street level using female police decoys and are often guided by citizens’ complaints about suspected prostitution activity. “John stings” have at times been launched in parallel with stings targeting sexually exploited individuals. Since at least 2010, local media outlets have publicized the identities of all individuals arrested during these investigations (i.e., both buyers and those being sold).