Orange County, New York is located about 60 miles north of New York City near Poughkeepsie, and has a population of about 400,000 residents. Prostitution and sex trafficking have posed significant problems within the county for at least four decades. Among the more serious problems was the murder of a prostituted woman, and sex trafficking of children. Relatively routine street prostitution has driven complaints to police by local businesses and residents.

In response to these crimes, police have attempted to combat the consumer-level demand that drives all prostitution and sex trafficking, conducting reverse stings, both web-based and street-level. A relatively recent example occurred in June 2018, in which three men were arrested during a Hudson Valley prostitution operation conducted by a task force comprised of several law enforcement departments, including officers from the City of Newburgh Police Department, Orange County Drug Task Force, and New York State Police. During the sting, four women were arrested and charged with prostitution and three men were arrested for patronizing prostitution. All of the men were also released on their own recognizance with future court dates.

The county has had a “john school” program that began in 2004. The john school operated as an element of the Community Prosecution Initiative in the District Attorney’s Office, and was required for all defendants charged with patronizing prostitution. This program was designed as a “deterrent effort” directed at those who patronize people in prostitution. The school was a county-wide program designed for non-violent offenders who had been arrested for soliciting prostituted women. Since its inception, more than 100 people have completed the program. We do not know whether the program still operates, as of March, 2023.

Since at least May 1981, Newburgh Police have used identity disclosure tactics to deter sex buyers. In an article posted in the Newburgh Evening News, members of media supported this decision, noting that “for too long, only women were identified in prostitution arrests while men accused in these cases remained anonymous.” Those arrested in reverse stings have routinely had their identities disclosed on news releases by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Newburgh Police Department.