Horrific Child Sex Abuse Ring Uncovered in Alabama

Authorities in Alabama say they've uncovered a disturbing child sex trafficking operation allegedly run out of a storm shelter bunker in rural Bibb County. Seven suspects—including several who are related to the young victims—have been arrested so far, though investigators warn more arrests and victims could surface as the case unfolds.

• Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said at a press conference that at least 10 children between 3 and 15 years old were abused, the Washington Post reports. He said that children were sometimes bound to a bed or tied to a pole. He said the abusers included relatives and their acquaintances. Wade said other people made appointments to abuse the children, and the traffickers sometimes made up to $1,000 per night.

The case centers on a home in Brent, about 50 miles from Birmingham, where police say the suspects used a hidden bunker beneath a carport to confine and abuse children, USA Today reports. Wade said investigators believe the abuse, which involved male and female victims, began back in 2022. He said the children were apparently drugged to make them more compliant. The sheriff said the investigation began in February but authorities kept it quiet because they didn't want the suspects to "scatter like rats." The charges against the suspects include human trafficking, rape, sodomy, sexual torture, and bestiality, the Post reports. Wade said the suspects include the mother of some of the victims.

• "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 victimization of children," Wade said. "Like I say, I know God's forgiveness is boundless, but if there was a limit to it, I think we've reached it."
• The sheriff said the children are now in the custody of the Department of Human Resources, AL.com reports. "They're getting the medical help they need, the emotional, psychological help we can best provide them," he said. "For the younger kids, I'm hoping some of this is a blurry memory. Some of the older children will carry this vividly for the rest of their lives. You can't heal from this but you can move on as best you can."
• Wade said that from the outside, the bunker looks like a carport on a concrete slab. Asked at the press conference what would happen to it, he said, "We will see what can or should be done about that. If I had my way about it, we'd blow it up."