Nearly 100 arrested in international child sex abuse probe launched after fatal shooting of FBI agents
Nearly 100 people in the United States and Australia have been arrested amid an investigation into a suspected international pedophile ring, which was uncovered after the fatal shooting of two FBI agents in Florida.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on Tuesday announced officers pulled 13 children from harmful situations and arrested 19 men who face charges of sharing child abuse material online. It brings the number of people arrested in connection with “Operation Bakis” — a joint effort involving the AFP and FBI — up to 98, NBC News reported.
“Members used software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network,” police said.
AFP Commander Helen Schneider estimated that some of the suspects had “potentially been committing offences over 10 years.” She added that most of the Australian offenders were employed in occupations that require a “high degree” of knowledge about information and communications technology.
The probe initially kicked off after the deaths of FBI special agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger as they prepared to execute a search warrant at the apartment of David Lee Huber, a computer programmer accused of distributing child sexual abuse material in Florida. Authorities said he watched through a Ring camera as agents surrounded his residence in Sunrise on Feb. 2, 2021, armed himself and then opened fire.
The shooter — shot and killed himself — struck five agents, killing 36-year-old Alfin, a New Yorker who started his FBI career in the bureau’s Albany office, and 43-year-old Schwartzenberger, a Colorado native who had been with the FBI since 2005.
The shooting marked the deadliest day for the FBI since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was also the first time since 1986 that multiple FBI agents were fatally shot in the line of duty.
The following year, authorities launched a formal investigation after “the Federal Bureau of Investigation provided the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation with intelligence about Australian members of a peer-to-peer network allegedly sharing child abuse material on the dark web,” police said.
The suspects arrested this week have not been identified. They are all between the ages of 32 and 81 years old. So far, two have been sentenced, the agency said.
“Viewing, distributing or producing child abuse material is a horrific crime, and the lengths that these alleged offenders went to in order to avoid detection makes them especially dangerous — the longer they avoid detection the longer they can perpetuate the cycle of abuse,” Schneider said.
“The success of Operation Bakis demonstrates the importance of partnerships for law enforcement, at a national level here in Australia, but also at an international level.”
