Brevard County Sheriff’s Agent Mike Spadafora Receives FDLE ‘Commissioner’s Award’

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – On Friday, as part of the Florida Missing Children’s Day Ceremony in Tallahassee, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Agent Mike Spadafora was honored as the recipient of the prestigious Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner’s Award for his outstanding commitment to protect Florida’s most precious citizens, our children.

Each year the recipient is handpicked from hundreds of nominees by FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen based upon outstanding investigations that had a significant impact on saving the lives of children in our communities.

The award directly recognizes Law Enforcement Officers who go above and beyond the call of duty while protecting children.

This year, Commissioner Swearingen selected Agent Spadafora for his outstanding work in identifying and arresting one of the most dangerous child predators I have seen in my almost 40 years of Law Enforcement.

In 2018, Agent Spadafora initiated a joint investigation between the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety, Nacogdoches Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in Texas, which resulted in the arrest of Alexander Barter of Joaquin, Texas for conspiring to sexually assault, murder and cannibalize a child.

I think the best way to summarize the very evil nature of this individual and this case is to say that at the time of his arrest, he thanked the arresting agents for stopping him from killing a child because he could no longer control himself or his desires to kill, sexually assault and cannibalize an innocent child.

In fact, Barter stated that he could no longer control his ”blood lust” to kill a child and at the time of his arrest was in possession of a knife and garbage bags that he planned to use to kill the child and transport their remains in.

Our Brevard County SORT/ICAC unit was created for this very reason, to identify sexual offenders and predators who prey upon and exploit our children.

While we have experienced some outstanding investigative successes, it is not because there are more predators in our area, but instead because of the expertise and tenacity of our team coupled with an incredible partnership with Homeland Security/ ICE and the US Attorney’s Office.

These cases are truly unbelievable and are horrifying even for law enforcement to attempt to comprehend. It is so hard to imagine that we have monsters walking among us masquerading in human costumes as they prey upon us.

That is why our team and Agents like Mike Spadafora work night and day behind the scenes to unmask these evil predators who are all too often invited into our homes by way of the internet.

They work around the clock in the protection of our children because the suspects are often working just as diligently in their efforts to harm them.

Agent Spadafora has been recognized multiple times on a local, national and international level for his investigative expertise and has worked with both Federal and State legislators to enact laws that further protect the victims of sex abuse, cyber harassment and child exploitation.

Agent Spadafora has also been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades from multiple state and federal agencies and is a two-time recipient of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office Deputy of the Year.

Please join me in congratulating Agent Spadafora for his tireless and superior work in protecting our children and also in thanking Commissioner Swearingen and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for recognizing his actions.

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