The US Marshals Service has revealed in a press release that five endangered and missing teenagers were rescued as part of a multiagency effort named "Operation Boo Dat 2021".
As reported by CNN, the annual operation took place from mid-Octover to December 24 and saw the US Marshals Service New Orleans Task Force working with the New Orleans Police Department, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana State Police.
The effort also led to the arrests of 30 individuals, 17 of which were for felony sex offender registration violations.
The five rescued teenagers were all female and aged between 14 and 17 years old.
The USMS press release two of the rescued females were sisters aged 15 and 16 were found at an apartment in Baton Rouge and have since received "critical support from USMS Middle District of Louisiana and Baton Rouge Police Department".
Another teenager, a 16-year-old female, reportedly ran away from her home in Marrero, New Orleans, after allegedly stealing a relative's car, according to the press release. She was discovered in a residence with "multiple adults including a strip club dancer," the US marshal service said.
The release also states how at least two of the recovered teenagers are believed to have current or former "possible sex trafficking ties".
The US Marshal Service detailed in its press release how "over one hundred sex offender compliance checks were also attempted or completed in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes" throughout Operation Boo Dat 2021.
It adds: "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."
US Marshals detailed how one of the suspects arrested was a Tier 3 sex offender who was wanted for the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in an abandoned home in New Orleans. The release details how the suspect will now have to register as a sex offender for life.
