You know what's so great about the Internet? It's therapy for sick minds. Before, you thought you were alone, but now...one click and you realize you've got a family.Alex Zorgen.
Alex Zorgen is the main antagonist in Season 10 of Criminal Minds. He is the leader of a human trafficking ring that caters exclusively to serial killers and other violent sexual predators. He is the archenemy of Kate Callahan
He was portrayed by Brian Howe, whop also portrayed Robert Podsner in Numb3rs.
Biography
Past
In or before 1993, Alex decided to start a sex trafficking ring catering to serial killers and similar individuals. His first victim was Donna Mangold, who he abducted and repeatedly raped and tortured until she developed Stockholm's Syndrome after years of confinement, eventually giving birth to their son Kyle. Both Donna and Kyle went on to assist in the management of the ring.
Criminal Minds
X
At the end of the season premier "X", Alex, Donna and Kyle are seen in a van following a female jogger. Donna asks her for directions, and the woman approaches, at which point Kyle pulls her into the van and Alex drives away. Alex is then shown putting the woman up for auction on his website. It is also mentioned that the episode's main antagonist Steven Parkett bought his victims from the Zorgens' trafficking ring.
The Hunt
Alex realizes that FBI agent Kate Callahan is investigating how Parkett got his victims, and is getting closer to discovering the trafficking ring. As a result, he plots revenge on her, and orders Kyle and Donna to abduct Kate's 13-year-old niece Meg and her friend Markayla Davis. Donna and Kyle abduct the girls and bring them to Alex, but Markayla manages to get free and escapes into the woods. Frustrated, Alex shoots Kyle twice in the chest, killing his own son.
Alex disguises Meg by cutting and dying her hair before taking a photo of her and putting it on his site, where she is bought by Colin Dupley. However, the BAU are able to identify Alex as the leader of the trafficking operation through his customer Miles Hendrick, and he and Donna are arrested. Alex is interrogated by Agents Aaron Hotchner and David Rossi, and taunts them that they will never find Meg. However, his revenge scheme fails when the Agent Jennifer Jareau informs Donna that Alex killed Kyle, at which point she breaks down and tells them where Meg is. Alex is then imprisoned for the rest of his life.
Trivia
- Alex is inspired by multiple real-life criminals:
- John David Norman, a nationwide American sex trafficker of boys and young men with contacts and johns ranging from high-ranking civil servants to, reportedly, serial killers of men and boys like John Wayne Gacy and Dean Corll.
- John Edward Robinson, a.k.a. "The Internet Slavemaster", regarded as the Internet's first serial killer. Robinson lured women with ruses, killed them, and disappeared their remains, even raising a child of one woman he murdered.
- Josh, the main antagonist of the 2011 exploitation horror film Megan is Missing, a kidnapper, rapist, and murderer of two teenage best friends who he lured online, disseminating the footage of their captivity and torture on public internet forums before murdering them both. The film is inspired by multiple felony cases, specifically Ward Weaver III's history of sexual violence and murder, and has been endorsed by Marc Klaas, the father of murdered child Polly Klaas.
External links
- Alex Zorgen on the Criminal Minds Wiki
