Gainesville is a city of approximately 45,000 residents located in northern Georgia’s Hall County, near Lula. To reduce prostitution activity in the area, local law enforcement has conducted both web-based and street-level reverse stings. They routinely release the names of all men and women charged with prostitution-related offenses.

In July 2003, the Gainesville Police Department reported that they had intercepted five individuals “in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Athens Street” during an “undercover prostitution sting.” Arrestees included one pimp, one prostitute woman, and three men, all of whom were charged with solicitation of sodomy. It remains unclear whether or not these individuals were soliciting prostitution.

In January 2008, the Hall County Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad, composed of officers from the GPD and Hall County Sheriff’s Office, conducted an ad hoc web sting at a local motel. According to news reports, “authorities found a Hall County woman’s online ad and were able to persuade her to cooperate with their investigation. The men seeking her services responded via e-mail, then spoke with her by phone before going to a motel room at a pre-arranged time.” The undercover investigation, which spanned at least two weeks, resulted in the arrest of 8 sex buyers.