Inside the Alabama Torture Bunker, Where Even Parents Are Accused of Abusing Kids

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Seven people have been charged so far in connection with the crime operation, which appears to have begun in 2022 in Brent, about 50 miles southwest of BirminghamNEED TO KNOW
At least 10 children in central Alabama were harmed in a harrowing child abuse case involving sex trafficking and torture, authorities said
Some of the children's parents and relatives are among the suspects
Two women and five men have been arrested with more arrests expected, according to authoritiesAt least 10 children in central Alabama were harmed in a harrowing child abuse case, in which they were sex trafficked — some of them by their own parents or other relatives — according to a local sheriff, who also said that that may have been why the abuse went undetected.
Seven people have been charged so far in connection with the crime operation, which appears to have begun in 2022 in Brent, about 50 miles southwest of Birmingham, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said. Most of the victims were between 3 and 10 years old, and one was 15, Wade said. The children are now in the custody of the state and are receiving medical and psychological support.
The abuse occurred in a bunker, which was built as a storm shelter, Wade said. He said the suspects charged people to visit the bunker and abuse the children.
Officials began investigating in February after state child welfare officials alerted Bibb County authorities to the possibility of sexual abuse occurring at a home near the bunker. Wade described the bunker as a concrete structure partially underground with a mattress and a toilet.
'I'm afraid there's going to be more victims and many more suspects,' Wade said at a recent news conference.
Those charged include William McElroy, Dalton Terrell, Andres Trejo-Velazquez, Timothy St. John, Sara Terrell, Ricky Terrell and Rebecca Brewer.
All but Ricky and Sara Terrell have been charged with human trafficking, while McElroy, Dalton Terrell, Trejo-Velazquez and St. John are also charged with rape, sodomy and kidnapping. St. John also faces charges of bestiality and aggravated cruelty to animals.
Sara Terrell is charged with one count of sexual torture and two counts of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. Brewer, the other woman who was arrested, is charged with eight counts each of human trafficking and kidnapping and three counts of sexual torture.
The seven are in jail either because they were denied bond at a hearing or were stipulated not to receive one, Bryan Jones, assistant district attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit of Alabama, tells PEOPLE.
Jones says he anticipates Brewer and both Ricky and Sara Terrell will face additional charges once their cases are presented to a grand jury. It was not immediately clear whether any of them had lawyers.
"This is by far the worst case that I've ever had to deal with in terms of the the type of abuse, the length of the abuse, and the ages of the victims that were abused," Jones tells PEOPLE.
Wade also said it was the worst child abuse case he'd seen in his 33-year career.
"Some of the victims, the offenders were their parents and different relatives," Wade said.
Related: Bunker of Hell: Men Allegedly Paid to Rape Small Children in Underground Enclosure for More Than a Year
The district attorney's office declined to discuss the alleged relationships between the victims and the suspects to protect the identities of the children.
According to the sheriff, the children were sometimes tied to a pole or bound to a bed or a chair in the bunker and were sometimes drugged to make them compliant.
'Sometimes, there would be multiple people that would come by and victimize these children on a nightly basis," he said.
The operation is believed to have brought in up to $1,000 a night.
"It's hard to fathom that you could do this to another human being, but what makes it even worse is they're children and their ages," Jones tells PEOPLE. "You're talking about one child that was still either in or just coming out of diapers. It's just unbelievable that somebody could do this to someone that is so small and so innocent."
"It's hard to believe," he adds.
Read the original article on People