The children, with the youngest just 3 years old, were allegedly held captive in a storm bunker for years, sexually tortured with various implements, including animal shock collars and drugs, before clients would pay up to $1,000 to have sex with them, per authorities.
(Content Warning: This story includes disturbing details of alleged child sexual abuse)
The children, with the youngest just 3 years old, were allegedly held captive in a storm bunker for years, sexually tortured with various implements, including animal shock collars and drugs, before clients would pay up to $1,000 to have sex with them, per authorities.
Nearly six months after launching an investigation into possible child sexual abuse, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department in Alabama began announcing the arrests of multiple individuals, along with some of the shocking details of the case.
In a press conference on Wednesday, covered by NBC 15 News, the department announced three more arrests as the latest development of their investigation into the alleged sex trafficking of at least 10 children locked in a bunker for up to three years and sexually abused, including one as young as just three years old.
At the press conference, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade revealed the identities of the new arrestees, with two of them purportedly mothers to at least some of the allegedly abused children. These arrests included Rebecca Brewer, 29, (top row, middle left), Sara Louise Terrell, 44, (top row, middle right), and Ricky Terrell, 44, (top row, far left).
Brewer has been charged with eight counts of human trafficking, eight counts of first-degree human kidnapping, and three counts of sexual torture. Sara Louise Terrell is now looking at one count of sexual torture and two counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old, while Ricky Terrell is charged with one count of rape, with additional charges pending, per NBC 15 News.
Four additional people were previously arrested, including Dalton Terrell (top row, far right), facing five counts of first-degree rape, seven counts of first-degree sodomy, six counts of human trafficking, and four counts of first-degree kidnapping.
William Chase McElroy, 21, (bottom row, far left) was charged with four counts of first-degree rape, six counts of first-degree sodomy, six counts of human trafficking, and four counts of first-degree human trafficking.
Andres Trejo-Velazquez, 29, (bottom row, middle) was hit with six counts of human trafficking, and Timothy St. John, 23, (bottom row, right) is looking at two counts of first-degree rape, four counts of sodomy, four counts of human trafficking, three counts of kidnapping, one count of bestiality, and one count of cruelty to animals.
“I know God’s forgiveness is boundless, but if there is a limit, we’ve reached it,” said Wade on Wednesday, per The New York Post.
Essex County Sheriff’s Office/amber.ny.gov
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Authorities began their investigation in February, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office announcing their first three arrests (Dalton Terrell, William Chase McElroy, and Andres Trejo-Velazquez), after reports of possible child sexual abuse.
Along with reporting these latest arrests, Wade told reporters that McElroy had allegedly acknowledged inappropriate conduct with a child and Dalton Terrell purportedly admitted to unlawful sexual activity during an interview with investigators, per NBC 15 News.
Velazquez-Trejo, whose status as a U.S. citizen is currently under investigation, according to the news outlet, has been accused of distributing explicit images and facilitating contact between the victims and other individuals.
Essex County Sheriff’s Office/amber.ny.gov
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Trapped & Abused in Bunker
Releasing some images of the underground bunker the children were held in, Wade said that 10 victims have so far been identified, ranging in age from 3 to 15 years old. It was also noted that some of the suspects are the children’s parents.
Of the bunker, Wade said that while it “was built for a good thing,” referring to its intended use as a storm shelter, it was instead “used for a horrible thing.”
The bunker was purportedly the basement of an old house near the home of one of McElroy’s family members, per Wade, with investigators believing the alleged sex trafficking operation had been operating there since 2022. He said that from the outside it looked like a carport on a concrete slab.
The New York Post presented some details about the alleged abuses, stating that animal shock collars were one of the tools used on the children through the course of their years of abuse.
According to court documents seen by the news outlet, Sara Louise Terrell would allegedly put the shock collars on the children, which would be used on their genitals as punishment and self-serving sexual gratification.
According to the outlet, each of the arrested players had a role in the sex trafficking operation. Velazquez-Trejo allegedly drugged the children with a white powder in their drinks before bringing clients in who allegedly paid $1,000 to have sex with the children.
He is also accused of selling nude photos of the victims, per court records, while also allegedly being responsible for selling and purchasing the children.
Two of the victims were allegedly found to be performing sex acts on one another. When discovered, these children allegedly said that McElroy had done these things — or taught them — to them, according to Bibb County Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones.
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The sheriff’s office was alerted by the Alabama Department of Human Resources about “concerns regarding the sexual abuse of children in an underground bunker located in Brent,” according to Wade.
He said that as their investigation unfolded, “there’s no telling” how many other victims might exist in the larger trafficking scheme, noting that they are working with the Department of Homeland Security on this ongoing investigation. He also believes that there are more suspects, revealing that there are allegations of nearly a dozen more men who might have paid to have sex with the victims.
The children were allegedly tied up during these assaults, often to the sparse furniture seen in released photos of the bunker, including a mattress, chair, and concrete pilings holding up the ceiling, according to Jones.
“He would tie one child to the bed, one child to a chair and one to one of the support poles,” alleged Jones of Velazquez-Trejo, per AL.com. “Then he would allow people to pay to have sex with the children.”
“It’s hard to fathom that someone can do this to a child,” he added.
“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 continued, saying that it “may be a blessing in disguise” they were drugged, as many “don’t remember a lot of things.”
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“I’m hopeful through that they won’t have near the trauma they would have had if they had not been drugged,” he said.
Court documents allege that Sara Louise Terrell’s children were among the victims, as were the children of Velazquez-Trejo and Brewer — the couple shares three children, while Brewer has a fourth from a separate relationship.
It was not immediately clear how many of Brewer’s children were locked in the bunker. It was also not clear how many of the child victims were Sara Louise Terrell’s, or who their fathers were.
Additionally, all three Terrells charged are related, though Wade stated that how they are related is not yet clear.
The Post notes that all of the victims rescued are in the custody of the DHR where they are receiving time with counselors.
“No child deserves this, the power and control of it, the stealing the innocence of a child and the horrible victimization they went through with these monsters,” said Wade. “Some of the older children will carry this vividly for the rest of their lives.”
“You can’t heal from this,” he added, “but you can move on as best you can.”
Under state law, per WHSV, if anyone is convicted of a crime involving a child 6 years old or younger, they face a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole.
If you are experiencing or witness child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. If you believe a child is in immediate danger, call 911.
The National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline — 800.656.HOPE (4673) — provides free, 24/7 support for those in need.
