Maybe you don’t have children. Maybe your kids are now grown ups.
Maybe in a fleeting moment of wishful thinking you’ve let this thought pass through your mind: “Thank goodness I never have to worry about child molesters any more.”
This sentiment is understandable. But, sadly just not true.
As the nation learned recently, because of a tragedy here in Florida, those who prey on youngsters can also be horribly violent. Most predators use guile and cunning and deceit and manipulation to get close to the victims. But some use overt violence. Some stockpile weapons and take other dangerous steps to prepare for overt violence in the event that they’re caught. And some commit overt violence.
(Some, like Fr. John Fiala of MO, KS, TX and NE, even try to hire ‘hit men’ to murder their accusers.)
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/news2012/05_06/2012_05_16_Emily_TrialBegins.htm
http://www.bishop-accountability.org/assign/Fiala_John_M.htm
By now many have seen the horrific story of the FBI agents that were shot and killed in Sunrise, Florida serving a warrant on a sexual predator in Sunrise earlier this week.
According to ABC News, “Agent Daniel Alfin gained international attention when he led a team that shutdown a major worldwide child pornography website. Agent Laura Schwartzenberger worked more anonymously, teaching children and adults how to avoid online sexual exploitation. Both devoted their careers to capturing criminals who sexually abuse youngsters, often times testing the legal boundaries of computer privacy.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/slain-fbi-agents-worked-protect-children-abusers-75665103
Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones. Too often heroes like these two go unrecognized. Their deaths are nothing short of tragedies. And their bravery and determination to protect kids is admirable.
We at Horowitz Law share the feelings of Shelley Allwang, director of the Exploited Children Division at National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. She said “I feel lucky to have worked with people who had such commitment and resolve.”
The same day law enforcement raided the Sunrise apartment of suspected child pornographer David Huber, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrived at the U/S. Capitol to pay their respects to another hero fallen U/S/ Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, whose remains are lying in honor in the building’s famous Rotunda, less than four weeks after he died after responding to the riot that erupted in the building.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/02/politics/brian-sicknick-lie-in-honor-capitol-riot/index.html
Our hearts also go out to everyone who died or were hurt in that incident as well.
Three other agents were wounded, with two of them hospitalized. Both of the hospitalized agents were released Wednesday. The third agent was treated at the scene. Huber apparently killed himself after a standoff.
Florida court records show Huber with only minor traffic violations. He had no listing as a sex offender and no Florida prison record. Records show he owned computer consulting businesses from 2008 until last year. Broward County records show he was divorced in 2016.
More from ABC News: “Alfin, 36, and an agent for almost 13 years, made headlines seven years ago when he led a team that took down a Naples, Florida, man who was the lead administrator of Playpen, the world’s largest-known child pornography website. Steven Chase had created the website on Tor, an open network on the internet where users could communicate anonymously through “hidden service” websites.
Playpen had more than 150,000 users worldwide. Members uploaded and viewed tens of thousands of graphic images of young victims, categorized by age, sex and type of sexual activity involved. The FBI launched an investigation in 2014 after Playpen’s IP address was accidentally revealed
Schwartzenberger, 43, and an agent for 15 years, was part of Rockway Middle School’s law studies magnet program, teaching children about the internet’s dangers, including sexual exploitation and cyberbullying.
We would all do well to remember the dedication of these officers. And to remember that child predators can be dangerous to all of us, in many many ways.