Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade announced that arrests persist in the dreadful Alabama child sex trafficking operation as investigators gather more evidence. The sheriff suspects the ring’s leader might be connected to the Sureños gang.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office currently has seven individuals in custody after discovering children who were being imprisoned, drugged, and subjected to sexual abuse in a storm shelter located in Brent, Alabama. Assistant District Attorney Bryan Jones indicated that they anticipate new charges to be pressed.
“Throughout my 33 years in law enforcement, this is undoubtedly the most horrific situation I have ever encountered regarding the exploitation of children,” Sheriff Jody Wade conveyed to the press during a conference. “As I always say, I believe in the boundlessness of God’s forgiveness. However, if there were any limits to it, I feel we have reached them.”
– Texas reported on Wednesday that police arrested four suspects in the child sex trafficking case. Since that time, investigators arrested three more suspects. According to CBS42.com, those suspects are: William Chase McElroy, Dalton Terrell, Andres Trejo-Velazquez, Timothy St. John, Rebecca Brewer, Ricky Terrell, and Sara Terrell.
Sheriff Wade told reporters that he believes the case could be tied to the Sureños gang. He said the game is funded chiefly through child sex trafficking.
One of the suspects, Timothy St. John, is also facing charges of bestiality and aggravated cruelty to animals.
“No child deserves this,” Wade said. “That’s the most horrible thing you can do. The power and control of it, the stealing the innocence of a child and the horrible victimizations they went through with these monsters.”
The angered sheriff continued, saying, “It’s like the old saying, ‘if you see something, say something.’ If you do think or suspect that there are children being victimized, contact us or your local law enforcement and make them aware. If it’s nothing to it, we’ll be glad to say it’s not. But if there’s something to it, God help us to protect these children.”
Sheriff Wade said they believe the child sex traffickers made as much as $1,000 per night while victimizing the children. The children reportedly ranged in age from 10 to 15 years.
The sheriff said they were not sure how long the children were kept in the underground bunker at any one time. “It depends on what appointment time the offenders had,” he explained. “Sometimes, the children would be there, tied to a pole that was there, bound to a bed that was there, or a chair that was there. Sometimes, there would be multiple people that would come by and victimize these children on a nightly basis.”
Wade said the children were drugged before the sexual assaults. He explained that it might be a blessing as it could obscure their memories of the horrific events.
– Texas contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office for additional information regarding the victims and possible gang/cartel connections to the ring. A response was not received by the time of this publication.
Bob Price is the – Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the – Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
