New Orleans Marshals Operation Results in 80 Felony Arrests; Nine Missing Children Located

New Orleans, LA. — A U.S. Marshals Service task force reported 80 felony arrests during a months-long sex offender operation in the New Orleans area. A separate operation located or recovered nine missing or endangered children, according to a Sept. 21 agency release.

Operation N.O. Saints and Sinners ran from April 6 to Sept. 9. Of its 80 arrests, 49 involved outstanding sex offense charges, including several cases involving child victims. The other 31 involved sex offenders accused of violating registration requirements. The Marshals Service said two arrests involved human trafficking charges and one involved murder or attempted murder charges. Officers also seized 14 guns.

Operation Safe Harbor NOLA ran from May 5 to Aug. 15. Marshals said it located or recovered nine missing or endangered children. In one case described by the agency, officers found a missing New Orleans juvenile at a motel outside Jackson, Mississippi, after receiving a tip raising concerns about possible sex trafficking. The release does not say that trafficking was established in that case.

The agency’s headline says 16 missing or endangered children’s cases were closed, while the body of its release reports nine children located or recovered. It does not explain how the remaining seven cases were closed.

The operations involved federal, state and local agencies, including the New Orleans Police Department and several parish sheriff’s offices. “Our results hinge on the strength of our partnerships,” U.S. Marshal Enix Smith III said. The arrests described in the release include allegations and outstanding charges, which do not establish guilt.