Men held kids as young as 3 in bunker and sexually abused them, Alabama cops say
Three men are accused of using a bunker in a small Alabama town to traffic children for sex acts, deputies said.
A monthslong investigation, beginning in February, led to the arrest of William Chase McElroy, Dalton Terrell and Andres Velazquez-Trejo, who collectively face nearly 50 charges related to sexual abuse and child trafficking, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department said in a July 19 news release.
Attorney information for the men was not immediately available as of July 21.
Deputies said the investigation began “following concerns regarding the sexual abuse of children in an underground bunker” located in Brent, a town of less than 5,000 people about a 50-mile drive southwest from Birmingham.
The abuse lasted more than a year, beginning around New Year’s Day 2024 through April 2025, and involved children as young as 3 years old, AL.com and 1819 News reported, citing court records.
It was not clear how many children were involved.
“Such abhorrent behavior will not be tolerated in Bibb County,” Sheriff Jody Wade said in the release. “Offenders will face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
The investigation is ongoing, deputies said.
One hundred five human trafficking cases involving 141 victims were identified in Alabama in 2024, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Sex trafficking made up a majority of the cases reported, according to the hotline.
Human trafficking in the US
Human trafficking is a “crime of exploitation,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Traffickers profit off their victims by forcing them to engage in sex acts or do labor.
“With an estimated 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers prey on people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit,” officials said.
In the U.S., children in welfare or juvenile justice systems, such as foster care, are the most vulnerable to human trafficking, officials said.
Children and teens experiencing homelessness, people seeking asylum, people who struggle with substance abuse, migrant laborers, people who identify as part of the LGBTQ community and victims of domestic violence are also more vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking
“Traffickers can be strangers, acquaintances, or even family members, and they prey on the vulnerable and on those seeking opportunities to build for themselves a brighter future,” officials said.
This story was originally published July 21, 2025 at 1:24 PM with the headline "Men held kids as young as 3 in bunker and sexually abused them, Alabama cops say."
