A multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Marshal Service called “Operation Boo Dat 2021” recovered five missing teenage girls this week in New Orleans.
According to the Department of Justice, the U.S. Marshal Service partnered with the New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana State Police, and USMS New Orleans Task Force for a two-month operation that resulted in the arrests of 30 sex offenders, 17 of which were for felony sex offender registration violations.
The initiative, dubbed “Operation Boo Dat 2021,” also uncovered five missing teenage girls with sex trafficking ties. One of the suspects arrested is said to be a Tier 3 sex offender who allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl in an abandoned home on the West Bank of New Orleans.
“During Operation Boo Dat over one hundred sex offender compliance checks were also attempted or completed in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes,” U.S. Marshals said in a press release. “Sex Offender compliance checks require law enforcement officers to go to the sex offender’s reported address of residence to verify that the person still lives at the provided address. Often countless hours of follow up investigative work are required during and after a compliance check.”
The teens, all between the ages of 14 and 17, were found to be living in various motels and residences where alleged criminal activity was taking place. Two of the victims were sisters who “may be victims of adult(s) felony criminal sexual activities,” according to the release.
