U.S. MARSHALS ARREST SUSPECTED CHILD RAPIST

On April 18, 2007, at approximately 6:15 p.m., the Eastern District of Louisiana’s U.S. Marshals Crescent Star Fugitive Task Force (CSFTF) arrested Javier Hernandez in the 3200 block of Iberville Street, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Hernandez was wanted by the Yaphank Police Department in Suffolk County, New York for the alleged rape of a child under the age of fourteen. Preliminary investigation conducted by the U.S. Marshals New York Regional Task Force indicated Hernandez had recently come to New Orleans, finding work in the construction field. Deputies from the U.S. Marshals and the Orleans Parish Criminal Sheriff’s Office were able to identify Hernandez standing outside a residence and affected the arrest without incident. He was booked into Orleans Parish Prison awaiting extradition to New York.

His arrest is just one of many that the U.S. Marshals Service has accomplished since President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act into law. This landmark legislation provides federal, state, and local law enforcement new tools and increased capabilities to find missing children, address child pornography, and apprehend sexual predators who have failed to register. The Adam Walsh Act makes it a federal crime for sex offenders to fail to register and designates the U.S. Marshals as the apprehension authority for fugitive sex offenders.