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Authorities in Georgia have uncovered a child sex trafficking ring that involved at least six children, with the youngest victim being only three years old, discovered in a hidden storm shelter near a residence in Brent.
The indictment reveals that William McElroy, near whose home the shelter was located, and Dalton Terrell are facing charges related to human trafficking and the sexual abuse of children in an underground bunker. Additionally, Andres Trejo-Valaquez is charged with human trafficking. The three men were formally charged on July 11.
According to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office, the investigation commenced in February following reports of potential sexual abuse. Court filings note that the children were between the ages of 3 and 10 at the time the abuses took place.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Jones described the scene inside the storm shelter, saying, “there were chairs and beds and things of that nature and the children were drugged by Mr. Trejo and tied to the bed, into the chair, into a pole. And then people would come and pay money to have sex with these children.”
Jones indicated that there could be more victims and perpetrators involved in the case. He mentioned that a fourth person has been indicted by the grand jury, but the name cannot be released as the individual has not been arrested yet.
The charges in the case include:
McElroy: four counts of rape in the first degree, six counts of human trafficking in the first degree, six counts of sodomy in the first degree, four counts of kidnapping in the first degree Terrell: six counts of rape in the first degree, twelve counts of sodomy in the first degree, five counts of human trafficking in the first degree. Trejo-Valaquez: six counts of human trafficking in the first degree
“There are some allegations with individuals that we will have a hard time identifying, just because we don’t know their names. And the children were drugged, according to one of the codefendants. And so they may not be able to recognise or be able to identify anyone,” Jones said.
Jones said many of these details came from some of the defendants themselves. The investigation has been challenging for authorities, who have been working on the case since the beginning of the year.
“It absolutely infuriates me. But we have to kind of put that aside and just do the job. That’s all we can do,” Jones said.
Authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
