Palm Coast mayor, whose son was slain FBI agent, speaks out about arrests in global sex ring
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin will always feel the pain for the loss of his son, Daniel, one of two FBI agents gunned down in Broward County two years ago. But Alfin will also feel the pride in his son’s work to make the world a safer place.
Pride like he felt this week as authorities announced the arrest of nearly 100 people as part of an investigation into an online pedophile ring, according to news accounts. Daniel Alfin and fellow FBI Agent Laura Schwartzenberger were part of that investigation when they were killed in 2021.
“One of the things that I’m very proud of is that Daniel and his partners at work not only got to the finish line with this group but also brought to the public’s attention that the FBI does this type of work,” Alfin said in a phone interview. “There is incredible value in that they have saved an untold number of children from a life of horrors that we can’t even imagine.”
He added: “Obviously, it adds to the pride that I feel for the often invisible but incredibly important work that the various agencies, including the FBI, do,” Alfin said.
Daniel Alfin, 36, and Schwartzenberger, 43, were killed and three other agents were wounded on Feb. 2, 2021, while trying to serve a search warrant in a child sexual abuse material case at an apartment in Sunrise, near Fort Lauderdale. When law enforcement later entered the apartment, the agents’ killer had committed suicide.
While the exact numbers are not clear, the slain agents were part of an investigation that led to nearly 100 arrests and more than 40 convictions of members in an online pedophile ring in the United States and Australia, according to news accounts.
In Australia, 19 men were charged in what was called Operation Bakis, which had its origins in the murder of the two FBI agents, according to the Australian authorities. The operation also led to 13 Australian children being removed from harm.
David Alfin said he was aware of the arrest and convictions stemming from the investigation because the FBI keeps families of fallen agents informed.
“The FBI itself is very committed that not just their first responders, all are part of the family and it's all one big family that they watch over very well,” Alfin said.
He said the recent arrest shows that these investigations take time, but that law enforcement is always working.
“Take some comfort: There are good guys fighting bad guys out there every minute of the day,” David Alfin said.
He said his son's and Schwartzenberger’s names are “proudly mounted on every FBI office in the world.”
Alfin said that “time does sand some of the rough edges off of the raw emotions,” but he identifies some of the feelings with the devil.
“The devil reaches out and squeezes your heart and it’s not a physical pain. It is worse. It’s an emotional upheaval,” Alfin said.
He added: “The point is you never know. It’s always out there and all you know it’s going to grab you when you least expect it.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FBI investigation ends global child sex ring that killed 2 agents
