Sex trafficking ring busted: Kids as young as 2 held captive in Alabama storm bunker for three years; 7 arrested
A sex trafficking ring was busted in Alabama where at least 10 children, some as young as 2, were held captive and sexually tortured for three years in a storm bunker, organised by some of the children's own parents.
According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Department on Wednesday, seven suspects have been arrested, including three family members and two mothers whose children were among those trapped and abused. They used tools like animal shock collars to carry out the horrifying acts, as reported The New York Post.
During the abuse, children would be tied up using the limited furniture in the room, such as a grimy mattress, a chair, and a support pole, and tools like animal shock collars were used to carry out the horrifying acts.
The suspects — Rebecca Brewer, 29; Sara Louise Terrell, 41; Ricky Terrell, 44; Dalton Terrell, 21; William Chase McElroy, 21; Andres Velazquez-Trejo, 29; and Timothy St. John, 23 — face charges including sodomy, rape, sexual torture, and human trafficking.
Roles beyond direct abuse
Velazquez-Trejo would allegedly drug the victims, ages 2 to 15, by putting a white powder in their drinks, then bring in clients who paid up to $1,000 to have sex with the children.
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The house where the abuse occurred was either owned by or located near a home belonging to McElroy's elderly grandparent.
Two victims were forced to perform sexual acts on each other and that McElroy taught and performed the acts on them.
Court documents state that Sara Louise Terrell placed animal shock collars on the victims, which were used on the children's genitals for punishment and self-serving sexual gratification.
These actions targeted both her own children and children of Velazquez-Trejo and Brewer.
Velazquez-Trejo and Brewer have three children together, and Brewer has a fourth child by another partner. It is unknown how many of these children were among the victims. The number of Sara Louise Terrell's children involved is also unclear, as is the identity of their fathers.
All three Terrells arrested are related, but their exact relationship remains undetermined, according to county sheriff Jody Wade, as reported by The New York Post.
Some suspects were allegedly responsible for selling and purchasing children, and Velazquez-Trejo is accused of selling nude pictures of the victims.
Wade said, 'there's no telling' how many more victims may exist as the investigation continues in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security. Investigators are also looking into possible connections with the Mexican gang Seranos, which is known to profit from child sex trafficking.
All of the rescued children are now in the custody of the Alabama department of human resources and have access to counselors.
'No child deserves this, the power and control of it, the stealing the innocence of a child and the horrible victimisation they went through with these monsters,' said Wade.
Five indicted suspects will be arraigned in August.
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