Two lawmakers in Alabama want the death penalty in child rape cases after authorities arrested several people for allegedly abusing children in an “underground bunker.”
The case out of Bibb County saw seven taken into custody regarding charges that include rape, sexual torture, and human trafficking, WSAZ reported on Saturday.
The suspects in the case are identified as 21-year-old William Chase McElroy, 21-year-old Dalton Terrell, 23-year-old Timothy St. John, 44-year-old Ricky Terrell, 29-year-old Andres Trejo-Velazquez, 29-year-old Rebecca Brewer, and 41-year-old Sara Louis Terrell, per the Daily Mail.
The outlet said, “And at least one of the seven has been connected to a Mexican gang that uses sex trafficking as its main source of income.”
Images show the suspects’ mugshots:
In regard to the push for the death penalty, the WSAZ article said:
“When you have situations like what happened in Bibb County, that would be up to the Bibb County prosecutor, but this would be a tool that they would have in their belt that they could if they decided to use that,” Alabama Rep. Matt Simpson said.
Simpson is planning to file a bill in the Alabama House. Republican Sen. April Weaver is planning to file a bill in the Alabama Senate that would make those convicted of rape or sodomy of a child younger than 12 eligible for the death penalty.
Weaver, who represents community members in Bibb County, stated, “I defy anyone anywhere with any conscience or any sense of morals to look at this case and others like it and argue the death penalty is not appropriate.”
A former Bibb County teacher said she raised concerns about one of the children believed to be a victim in the case a year before the allegations came to light, KOMO reported on July 28.
She said the child exhibited developmental delays, had poor hygiene, and was chronically absent. She reported those observations to school leadership several times.
“Investigators have since uncovered that at least ten children were drugged and abused in an underground bunker,” the article said, adding, “Law enforcement stated that the case was not referred to them by the Department of Human Resources until February 2025.”
WVTM reported on July 23 the alleged abuse occurred for a period of two years. The Children were reportedly either tied to a bed, a chair, or a pole inside the bunker. “Then people paid money to violate them,” a reporter for the outlet said, noting the bunker was originally built as a storm shelter:
The suspects’ charges also include bestiality.
When speaking of those arrested, Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said, “Unfortunately, animals like this, they do have their own network. They’ve got people they can call, they’ve got ads they can take out, be it on any kind of social media platform or something like that. So it is somewhat of an underground thing but it is well known not all of the offenders were necessarily familiar with the people that they were purchasing the kids from.”
Wade also said, “Some of the victims, the offenders were their parents and different relatives and things like that,” according to ABC 33/40:
The victims ages ranged from three to 15 years old.
