U.S. Marshals’ “Operation Boo Dat” Rescues Five Teens and Arrests Wanted Sex Offenders

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The United States Marshals notified the world last week that they successfully rescued five teens who were missing or endangered. They also captured 30 wanted criminals, 17 of whom are sex offenders that were arrested for felony sex offender registration violations.

Dubbed “Operation Boo Dat”, the U.S. Marshals Service’s New Orleans Task Force conducted their annual sweep of criminals in partnership with state, county, and local authorities from mid-October through the end of 2021.

Officials conducted over 100 sex offender compliance checks during the operation, either making an attempt or completing the check. Compliance checks require law enforcement officers to visit the last known address of a sex offender to verify if that person still resides there. Many hours are spent on follow-up investigative work during and after these kinds of checks, especially if the sex offender is not located.

The rescued teens range in age from 14 to 17 years old. 

Among them is a 16-year-old female who ran away from her home in Marrero, part of Jefferson Parish. She allegedly stole a vehicle and a handgun before fleeing. She was found in New Orleans living with several adults, including an adult female stripper.

A 14-year-old female with possible sex trafficking ties was found in a motel room in New Orleans East with two other females, ages 17 and 15. They told the officers they’d shared another room with adult males from Baton Rouge before moving to the room in which they were found. They claimed that the men returned to Baton Rouge because one of their cousins had been shot, leaving the girls stranded at the motel.

The third recovery was that of a 15-year-old runaway female from Baton Rouge whose pimp had recently been murdered. She was found living with her 17-year-old boyfriend and one of his relatives in New Orleans. Despite her pimp’s murder, she was regularly leaving the apartment to meet with adult males. The Marshals suspect this case is “possibly associated with an armed robbery that occurred in the same area.” 

The last two females recovered are actually sisters, ages 15 and 16. The Marshals think that both girls may be the victims of “adult(s) felony sexual activities”. They’d gone missing from Baton Rouge and St. Tammany Parish, respectively, and were found in an apartment in Baton Rouge.

Eastern District of Louisiana U.S. Marshal Scott Illing stated

“With critical assistance from our state and local partners along with Crimestoppers GNO we continue our daily efforts to make the Eastern District of Louisiana safer. The results of this operation were only accomplished via law enforcement teamwork and USMS New Orleans Task Force along with our local, state, and federal partners continue to support the Sex Offender Investigations and Missing Child Unit missions of the USMS along with ongoing investigations of violent felony offender fugitives across the Eastern District of Louisiana.”

The press release also included the details of eight men they arrested:

  • Lorenzo Oliver – Felony warrant for alleged rape of a 12-year-old

  • Unnamed sex offender – Alleged Failure to Report International Travel to Ethiopia to the St. James Parish Sheriff’s Office as required by Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act

  • James Sorrell – Warrants in multiple states for failure to register as a sex offender

  • David Douglas Smith – Failure to register as a sex offender

  • Lamonte Versill Morris – Warrant for alleged aggravated sexual assault

  • James E. Muse – Warrant for not reporting to LA Probation and Parole for a considerable amount of time. He was also arrested during Operation Boo Dat in 2020 related to the alleged 2020 charges of Aggravated Battery of a teen using a cigarette lighter and Simple Robbery

  • Anthony Roberts – Failure to register as a sex offender

  • Kuimar Stephens – Orleans Parish Criminal District Court warrant from August of 2020 for Failure to Appear in Court on a pending felony Failure to Register as a Sex Offender charge, and a New Orleans Police Department warrant from November of 2021 for possession of a rifle

Stephens attempted to flee authorities by climbing out a window. He was immediately apprehended and later found with what Marshals believe to be a small amount of ecstasy on his person.

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