Seven Arrested in Alabama Underground Bunker Child Sex Trafficking Ring

Authorities in Bibb County, Alabama, have uncovered a horrific child sex trafficking ring involving an underground storm shelter used as a bunker, where at least six children aged between 2 and 10 were drugged, tied up, and sexually abused. Seven suspects, including William Chase McElroy, Dalton Terrell, Andres Trejo-Velazquez, and Timothy St. John, have been arrested and face multiple charges including rape, human trafficking, sodomy, kidnapping, sexual torture, bestiality, and animal cruelty. Assistant District Attorney Brian Jones described how the children were held captive in the bunker while perpetrators paid to abuse them, with some victims forced to perform sexual acts on each other, and noted that many perpetrators remain unidentified as victims were drugged and unable to recognize them. Sheriff Jody Wade emphasized the severity of the case, calling it the worst child victimization he has seen in his 33 years of law enforcement and indicated more arrests may be forthcoming. Some suspects had ties to gangs involved in human trafficking, and in some cases, the abusers were the children’s own parents. The children have been removed from the home and are in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, though authorities believe more victims may exist.