Inside the room where adults are accused of torturing kids with shock collars and forcing them into sex
Appalling photos have revealed the Alabama storm shelter where at least 10 children, some as young as 3 years old, were held captive and sexually tortured for years as part of a sex-trafficking ring organized by some of their own relatives.
Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said during a press conference Wednesday that 10 victims have been identified, but warned that both the number of victims and arrests would likely increase.
“I’ve been in law enforcement for 33 years, and this is absolutely the most horrible thing I’ve ever seen when it comes to the victimization of children,” Wade said. “I know God’s forgiveness is boundless, but if there was a limit to it, I think we’ve reached it.”
Seven suspects, including two mothers and several other relatives of the victims, have been arrested so far for their role in the alleged ring, authorities said.
William Chase EcElroy, 21, Dalton Terrell, 21, Andres Velazquez-Trejo, 29, Timothy St. John, 23, Ricky Terrell, 44, Sara Louise Terrell, 41, and Rebecca Brewer, 29, all face an array of charges, ranging from rape and sodomy to kidnapping and human trafficking.
A shocking photo shared by authorities revealed the squalid conditions inside the concrete bunker where the horrifying abuse transpired for years, with authorities saying they believe it began around 2022.
Inside the cold, concrete shelter was little furniture, consisting of just an old, dingy bed, several chairs and other small pieces of furniture.
Throughout the abuse, the children would allegedly be tied up, often to the limited pieces of furniture, and forced to perform sexual acts, Bibb County Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones said.
The children were also allegedly drugged by Velazquez-Trejo, who put some kind of white powder into their drinks that would make them drowsy, authorities said.
“It’s hard to hear their stories and it’s hard to see pictures of this bunker where, according to some of the witnesses, they were drugged,” Jones said.
“As bad as it sounds with (Velazques-Trejo) drugging them, it may be a blessing in disguise because they don’t remember a lot of things,” Jones said.
“I’m hopeful that they won’t have near the trauma they would have had if they had not been drugged.”
One of the mothers reportedly involved in the abuse, Sara Louise Terrell, would allegedly put animal shock collars on the victims, which the suspects would also use on the children’s genitals, according to The New York Post.
The investigation into the abuse began earlier this year on Feb. 4, when authorities were called to the shelter and found two of the victims performing sexual acts on each other, Jones said.
The victims told authorities they were performing what McElroy had done to them or taught them to do, Jones said.
Authorities allege the children, who were between the ages of 3 and 16, were forced to endure vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse and oral sex.
Records obtained by AL.com also showed that one of the suspects allegedly “sold” children “to various clientele for sexual pleasure.” Each suspect reportedly had a specific role in the alleged ring.
Authorities believe their investigation will yield more victims and even more suspects. Jones said there are allegations of up to another 12 men who may have paid to have sex with the children.
“We have no way of identifying these people unless somebody in the community comes forward and says this person told us they did this,” Jones said.
“The children wouldn’t know who they are,” he said, referring to the victims being drugged.
The victims included Sara Louise Terrell’s children and Velazquez-Trejo and Brewer’s children, authorities said. It was not immediately clear how many children from each suspect was involved in the abuse.
Authorities said all three Terrells charged are related to each other, though it was not immediately clear how.
Wade said that “there’s no telling” how many additional victims they may find, noting it seemed as though what they’d uncovered was “just the tip of the iceberg.” Bibb County officials are investigating alongside the Department of Homeland Security.
Authorities are also probing the suspects’ potential affiliations with the Mexican gang Seranos, which largely makes money through child sex trafficking.
The victims are all in the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources.
The suspects, who all lived in mobile homes within a mile of each other in the small town of Brent, will be arraigned in August.
The investigation is ongoing.
