A law enforcement operation in New Orleans found five missing teenage girls, some of whom may have been trafficked, and led to the arrest of 17 people for felony sex offender registration violations.
‘Operation Boo Dat’ – conducted by the US Marshals Service’s New Orleans Task Force in partnership with state, county and local authorities – lasted from mid-October to December 24.
The rescued teens range in age from 14 to 17.
One of them is a 16-year-old girl who ran away from home after allegedly stealing a relative’s car and a handgun. She was found living in a house with several adults, including an ‘adult female strip club dancer.’
One of the suspects, Lorenzo Oliver, will have to register as a sex offender for life after he was arrested on December 10 for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in an abandoned home on the West Bank of New Orleans.
Oliver was previously convicted of attempted forcible rape and sexual battery in 2015 after he followed a woman into a library bathroom and tried to rape her, according to the Marshals Service.
US Marshals, in partnership with various law enforcement agencies, found five teen girls and arrested 30 people as part of their annual ‘Operation Boo Dat’
Lamonte Versill Morris, 38, was arrested in October at a home in New Orleans on a June 2021 warrant from Texas for the alleged aggravated sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl
A 16-year-old girl was found in the 7900 block of Benson Street, above, in New Orleans. She was living with several adults, including an ‘adult female strip club dancer,’ deputies say
The rescued girls and those arrested were found in separate locations and under different circumstances as part of the annual operation.
Three teen girls, aged 14, 15 and 17, were found in a motel room that ‘smelled of marijuana and alcohol’ on Read Boulevard in New Orleans East.
The girls told law enforcement that they were previously in another motel room with adult men from Baton Rouge, but the men left them after one of their cousin’s was shot.
Separately, a 15-year-old runaway with ‘prior human sex trafficking issues’ whose pimp was recently murdered was found living in an apartment with her 17-year-old boyfriend and one of his relatives.
‘Information was also developed that the female was regularly leaving the apartment to meet with adult males in New Orleans East,’ Marshals say.
Two sisters ages 15 and 16 were also found in an apartment in Baton Rouge, with Marshals believing they may be victims of felony criminal sexual activities.
Overall, 30 people were arrested as a result of the months-long operation.
A 17-year-old girl was arrested on a felony warrant for human trafficking from a Louisiana county and a warrant for stealing a car from Mississippi.
She is known to have prior ties to several female runaways from New Orleans and to organized gang activities, Marshals say.
As part of the operation, Lamonte Versill Morris, 38, was arrested at a home in New Orleans on October 29. His apprehension was previously reported by Corpus Christi, Texas TV station KIII-TV.
He was wanted on a June 2021 warrant from San Patricio County, Texas for the alleged aggravated sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, authorities say.
James E. Muse was arrested on November 8 after he failed to report to the probation and parole board for ‘a considerable amount of time’ amid reoccurring allegations that he was involved in sex trafficking, according to the Marshals.
He was on parole for ‘Enticing Persons Under 17 into Prostitution’ in New Orleans.
Seventeen people were arrested for failing to register as a sex offender, which may restrict where a person convicted of sex crimes can live depending on the area.
On October 26, officers arrested David Douglas Smith for failing to register as a sex offender. He was convicted in 1996 in East Baton Rouge Parish for molesting a 9-year-old girl and had been living in Tangipahoa Parish in eastern Louisiana for over two years without registering.
A day earlier, James Sorrell was found at a homeless shelter in New Orleans under a false name. He was wanted on multiple warrants from Texas and Wisconsin for failing to register as a sex offender.
His original 1987 conviction in Idaho involved a 7-year-old female victim.
US Marshals, above in San Antonio, Texas in 2017, arrested a total of 17 people in the New Orleans area for failing to register as sex offenders
Kuimar Stephens was arrested on December 22 as he tried to run away through the window of a home on the 6900 block of Yorktown Drive in New Orleans, above. He was wanted for failing to appear in court on a pending charge of failing to register a sex offender
Most recently, Kuimar Stephens was arrested on December 22 as he tried to run away through the window of a home on the 6900 block of Yorktown Drive in New Orleans.
He was wanted on an August 2020 warrant for failure to appear in court on a pending felony failure to register as a sex offender charge, US Marshals say.
He had not updated his registration since at least 2020 and was also wanted on a separate warrant from the New Orleans Police Department alleging that he was in possession of a rifle.
‘This stems from a November 21st, 2021, shooting incident in the 3400 block of Pleasure Street where it is alleged that person(s) shot at Stephens over one hundred times and an AK-47 variant rifle was recovered by New Orleans Police Department at the scene of the shooting,’ US Marshals said in a press release.
‘During Operation Boo Dat over one hundred sex offender compliance checks were also attempted or completed in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes,’ Marshals said.
‘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 Marshals Service partnered with the New Orleans Police Department, the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and Louisiana State Police in the effort.
