July 25, 2025 • 29 mins
Dr. Chris Strunk recounts his visit to “Alligator Alcatraz” and the environmental and humanitarian concerns. Then Bibb County Sherriff Jody Wade talks about the challenges facing his team in dealing with the child abuse case in Brent.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
President Trump's proposal for housing illegal immigrants in a facility
that has been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz has drawn some iyre
over recent weeks. Hello, I'm John Mounts and this is
Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. Joining me now
to talk about this is doctor Chris Drunk. He's a
former Birmingham area resident and now resides in Florida. Recently
he returned from the Everglades. Chris, welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you for having me. It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So last Thursday, at a press conference held by Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis, a Heckler he was actually talking about
hul Cogan and a Heckler interrupted and said, this, so
like the.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
First few WrestleManias I think were like that, And I
remember WrestleMania three. He was up, hey, stop, stop, stop, I.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Get out of here, get here, get out of here,
Get out of.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Here, get out of here.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So you used to have the closed circuit.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This is the frustration that has been espoused by a
lot of people all over the country. They're frustrated about
this thing and is a little bit controversial. Pretty much
anything Donald Trump has proposed over the course of the
last his current administration of the previous one has been
somewhat controversial, So I wanted to get your perspective on
this because you're familiar with the area. So Chris, if
you could describe first what the Alligator Ally area and
(01:25):
more specifically the part proposed Alligator Alcatraz, what it was
in what is becoming?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yes, thank you, it's like it's like we said earlier.
One of the most interesting things that I've taken from
this is how the Everglades are always changing and then
always kind of a new I guess you could say
phase keeps coming around the horizons. The Seminoles, as you know,
the Seminole tribe. Betty Osciola heads the Seminole Tribal Council
(01:53):
down there, and she has rightfully so, a lot of
influence over what the National Park is doing in terms
of the future of the park itself. The Seminoles are
more conservationists and naturalists, and they're trying to treat the
Everglades as a preserve and they like to leave things
as they are naturally, as you know. And one of
(02:15):
the things that is interesting is that was how that
airfield that was originally constructed down there. I want to
say it was two or three decades ago. The airfield
was brought into place, and then the Seminoles were kind
of upset because they realized how much was going to
have to go into development for a proper airport, and
so construction and funding was eventually stopped, and then the
(02:37):
airfield just stood as it was.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
And the airfield had one of the largest runways in America.
It was something like twelve like fifteen hundred or fifteen
thousand feet something.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Like that exactly. It's quite a considerable two or three miles. Yes,
you can transition, I learned when I was in Afghanistan.
Depending on the size of the airfield, you can transition
quite a number of large aircraft. And as you know
from your own experience in aviation, the larger the airfield,
the more beneficial it is to getting different types of
(03:08):
aircraft in there.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And the whole Now, of course, the Everglades is very expansive.
So even when we talk about an airfield with a
with a with a ten thousand and fifteen thousand foot runway,
it's still a very small drop in the bucket in
terms of the amount of land that the Everglades occupies. Nevertheless,
we don't want to just damage the you know, the environment,
just for no good reason. But this is land that
(03:31):
was already kind of sort of in use. We weren't
using it, but I mean we'd already improved it to
a degree, so there already was an airstrip on it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Right, So when they built it, the seminoles were, like
I said, they were quite upset because they want to
keep it like a preserve. So that's why I construction stopped,
and then the government, the current administration for under President Trump,
has decided to use it. Is kind of like a
It was originally, you know, pushed as a temporary place,
but I've received some information from some of the folks
(03:59):
who lived down there. I was when I was down
there for the Python Challenge, which is quite an incredible event.
I'll talk to that later. But when I was down there,
the initial thought was, Okay, this is going to be
a temporary thing. But then I've come to understand there's
a lot more going on. So while I was down there,
it was told I was informed that there is quite
(04:21):
an extensive amount of contracting going into place for permanent
wastewater facilities, plumbing, piping that kind of thing industrial you know,
sewage capacity to accommodate the you know, fifteen hundred or
so people who are currently there, to include staff, guards
and so forth, as well as the detainees. So what
(04:43):
I guess I'm trying to say to you is, and
a simple foil request could probably clear this up, is
what was started off as temporary seems to becoming more permanent,
which is what's causing the seminoles of course to you know,
have a lot of you know, frustration and probable anger
over all of this.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
So let's talk about the facility. When we talk about it,
tempt to permanent it because I've heard it described everything
from you know, tents and imagine like these old army
tents like we used to have and we went to
Camp Sequoia, you know, those little green tents. But I've
seen pictures of this facility and it's actually these are
very these are tents, they are still temporary facilities, but
(05:19):
they are very strong temporary facilities, and there is plumbing.
There's actually showers, and there's toilets and that sort of thing.
So it is a there is infrastructure going into this, right.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, So I think I think, like we said those
who probably want to know more particulars. I would welcome
a foil request because you can, you can definitely request that.
But what I'm trying to say here is it seems
if they're going to put permanent wastewater in plumbing systems
into the into the area, that more permanent facilities were
(05:49):
probably soon to follow. I would just imagine, and I'm
just like I said, I'm just making an educated guess here.
If they're using bottled water in porta potties right now,
but then they're laying in large scale wastewater facilities, I
would like or I'm inclined to believe that more permanent
structures are coming.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And it looks like there are there are toilets, at
least they're flushable toilets. And I've heard I heard some
of the inmates. I was listening to some reporting some
of the inmates. They were complaining that the water pressure
is not good in the showers. But this does kind
of I'm reminded that this isn't holiday inn These these
people are being detained for reasons, and so it is
(06:28):
kind of like a well, it's a jail and they
have they're at least alleged to have broken the law
for starters coming into the country illegally, and many of
them have broken many more laws while they were here,
and that's the reason they're being detained, and that's why
the facilities are not great, and that's why I think
it's become a political hot button issue as to the
conditions on the ground. In fact, there was recently a
(06:48):
tour conducted of it was a bipartisan both Democrat and
Republican legislators from Florida toward the facility and this is
what Representative bays Ignacio had to say.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
It's actually a very well run facility. The idea that
the detainees are in there and they're in squalid conditions
is just not accurate.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And on the other hand, some of the Democrats are
saying the opposite. They're saying, this is a concentration camp.
This is the horrible squalid conditions. From what the video
I've seen, and you also got to look up close,
it didn't look dirty. It didn't look like the holiday inn.
There were definitely I mean, obviously they're being detained, so yes,
there are there bunks, and the bunks are surrounded by
(07:33):
I can only describe it as a cage is the
wrong word, but it looks like how would you It's
like it's almost like fencing around around the bunk, so
they couldn't just escape.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
When you have temporary facilities, it's not going to be
obviously as luxurious as these folks would like. But then again,
I also realize that, like we said before, the Seminole tribe,
this goes back to I'm sorry if I forget the year,
but when these Seminoles, because the Seminole as a Native
American group, they're a fascinating group of people because they
(08:04):
didn't quite get beaten like a lot of the Native
American tribes date out west. They were actually quite successful
in negotiating different terms and contracts with the United States government.
And what I'm trying to say is they have a
little bit more sway and a little bit more ability
to have terms as they see them. So the interesting
thing in all this is getting a permanent facility established
(08:26):
down there may be a little bit more difficult than
people think, because, like I said, they do have their
own I guess you could say way of resolving things.
And the prisoners of course or excuse me, detainees that
down there are probably saying, you know, they want something
more permanent. They want, you know, something that they can
feel is a little bit more stable in terms of
maybe during hurricane season. I could understand, like if you
(08:48):
told me I'd just stay a FEMA trailer during hurricane season,
I wouldn't be too thrilled about that myself. But I understand,
you know, some of the different arguments here.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And of course I have spoke with some of our
report We have reporters in Miami. I've spoken with them,
and they said, for the most part, where this is
located in the Everglades, even if we took a direct
hit with like say a Cat five on the coast
as far inland as it is, it would be downgraded
more like say a Cat three by the time it
got there. And these facilities are believed to be strong
enough to withstand Cat two even Cat three style winds,
(09:19):
And really you're more looking at water, and they say
the drainage is adequate for that sort of situation. So
they're not anticipating disaster like what you saw in Katrina
or something like that, where you have a flood or
something like that. At least that's not the anticipation for
the area Chris. Let's move on this. By the way,
it's Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. My name
is John Mounts speaking with doctor Chris Strunk, who is
(09:40):
from the Birmingham area. Recently toured had a chance to
to spend some time in Alligator Alley, in around Alligator Alcatraz.
One of the reasons why, of course the original Alcatraz
was picked was because San Francisco Bay is inhospitable. It's
difficult to get off of the island, and so that
we created a deterrent. One of the reasons why this
is being picked is for the sake reason because it's
(10:01):
considered inhospitable. Let's talk about the conditions surrounding the facility.
If someone were to climb over some of these fences
and out of the tents and everything else, and they
were to get out there into the wilderness, it's not
the same thing as Oak Mountain.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Is it. No.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So, while I was down there, and I really this
is my second time down there, I really enjoyed, you know,
getting to know everything that I did, and the natural
swamp and it is a wild it's a wilderness down there.
If you get off the trail systems and by the way,
the Everglades proper is only covered about four percent in
(10:37):
terms of a trail or road system. The other ninety
six percent is pretty much a wild swamp. And in
a wild swamp land anything goes. Just because you take
one or two steps forward, and wild swamp doesn't mean
the next two steps are going to be stable enough
to step through, because it could be very well of
marsh and then you fall through and then the next
thing you know, you're chest deep in water. There's all
(10:59):
kinds of things down there. In terms of animals, there's
obviously alligators. There's very dangerous venomous snakes. Water moccasins are
very aggressive if you come into their territory, especially during
mating season. Then you've got, of course, or poisonous spiders
like the brown reclues, the black widow. You've got all
kinds of, you know, unpleasant conditions should you deviate from
(11:23):
what I would classify as a trail or road system.
And it's definitely not hospitable at all. It's very hot
during the day. You're talking UV radiation levels at the
eleven twelve in some cases range, simply because it's so
close to the equator.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Down there, and for those who are actually on the
facility being detained, the tents are air conditioned. They were
complaining the tents aren't well air conditioned, but they're air conditioned,
which is better than nothing, right.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And then the other thing is, of course, the invasive species.
I was down there for the Florida Wildlife Commissions Python Challenge,
an annual event where where they bring together trained and
professional types who come down there to try to get
rid of the pythons which are destroying the ecosystem down there.
As you know, a python will eat just about any
kind of small, warm blooded mammal. That's why, unfortunately the Everglades,
(12:19):
and I'm not saying it's they're all completely gone, but
it's it's unfortunate because you've got a complete loss of
the bobcats, the raccoons, the rabbits, the possums, a lot
of species of birds in particular used.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Be panthers too, didn't.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
They Right, So the panther is slowly coming back to
the state of Florida, thankfully, some of their population numbers
seems to be increasing in certain parts of the state,
but the state or the Everglades in general, excuse me,
it's it's becoming like when you go down there, you're
going to get swarm by mosquitoes. First of all, the
mosquito population I think has grown substantially because there's nothing
(12:55):
for them to chew on. You know, normally an ecosystem
would would provide mammal Even the deer are disappearing from
the Everglades because of these pythons. There's estimated anywhere between
fifty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand pythons, and
none of them belong there.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I was gonna say, you mentioned pythons being an invasive species,
meaning that they're not native. They are actually I think
native to South America, like the Amazon.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Right, so I believe the Burmese python is actually native
to Asia. But the reticulated python, if I'm not mistaken,
is a is a South American snake.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And they were brought in to America as pets and
then somebody said, they, oh, how cute it's you know,
eighteen inches long, And then eighteen inches becomes you know,
eighteen feet and they don't want it, and then they
turn it loot. They figure, well, we'll turn it back
to the environment where it belongs. But it doesn't belong
in that environment, and that's what creates that situation with
invasive because the balance isn't there and all of a sudden,
(13:47):
nature is well out of balance, which I guess is
the reason why they have the You were talking about
the Python challenge where the state invites people to come
in and actually do something about the python. They it's
kind of interesting. It's a great solution to we got
this problem. Rather than government solving it, We're going to
invite people, make it a tourist thing to come down
here and take care of the problem for us.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Right, So, with the proper training, because you have to
complete some training before you go down there, because they
don't let just anybody come down there. I mean, you
have to do some training. And then once you do
the training, you have to register with the State of Florida,
and then they have to know kind of like who
you are, where you're coming from, and then so they
kind of, like I said, they have a little bit
of a background check to make sure you're not just
some waco going down there to cause trouble. And then
(14:28):
the other thing is because they try to treat like
a preserve rightfully, so they encourage everyone to stay on
the trails and stay out of the canals, and stay
out of the wild swamp, because, like I said, it
is very dangerous, like you're really playing with your own life.
Should you choose to deviate from the trail and road
systems throughout the Everglades, Because like I said, it has
covered about four percent of the Everglades, but then the
(14:49):
other ninety six percent is wild swamp. And then once
you get in the wild swamp, you really you're taking
your chances. I wouldn't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So what you're saying, bottom line is these detainees who
are on base, they probably our edge. I imagine we
have a robust education system to teach those people who
are being take detained. Here are all the reasons why
you want to stay inside your air conditioned tent with
the showers that aren't so hot. Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yes, yes, I I've laugh it because yes, if I
were a detainee, I wouldn't recommend just wandering off into
the wild swamp. I can't quite think that would be
a good idea to say.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Chris, you know you and I we we were we
were in boy Scouts together years ago and we went
off to summer camp the conditions in summer camp. Quite frankly,
as compared to what I'm seeing there at what what
I've seen for Alligator Alcatraz, I think Alligator Alcatraz looks
pretty nice compared to what we went through.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah. Well, like I said, the detainees after the Senate
and congressional folks have been down there to check things out,
and rightfully so, they're just trying to look out for,
you know, any probable you know, you know, any problems,
I should say. But what I'm trying to say here
is the detainees are if they're in an air conditioned
facility that's secure, and they you know, they're not subject
(15:59):
to you know, a venomous snake in their bag for example,
I would like to think they're probably actually in a
decent place. And the other thing we haven't talked about
is the fact that they're not really in harm's way
down there. If they decided to get out, then the course,
like I said, they'd be taking their chances.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
So it's best for them to stay where they are.
And this is temporary. Not only is the facility, I
assume it's got to be somewhat temporary, or it wouldn't
be tends to be buildings, but also their detention is
temporary until we can move them to their final destination
once they're adjudicated. And there's been discussion of putting them,
and I've heard other ideas about putting them in third
(16:39):
like a third country, like I think Angola, there's some
African countries, Senegal, there's some of these countries that yeah,
we'll take, We'll take a few because the government will
pay them and if this country is strapped for cash,
it might be worth their while to send them there.
But that doesn't seem like it's a good way for
us to do if economically efficient for America because for starters,
we have to get them there and then we have
to keep paying the country to take care of them.
Although seem like reasons not to do that and rather
(17:02):
to keep them on shore. I never understood why it
is we kept Guantanamo Bay open for so long with
with prisoners there as opposed to putting the prisoners here.
Was the idea we didn't want to put foreign combatants
on our soil.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Yeah, so you have to remember the incident you put
like a person from al Qaeda for example, or some
other you know, nefarious or terrorist group inside the United States.
Now they have constitutional rights and then they can use
you know, the US Constitution to basically exonerate whatever it
is or trying to exonerate themselves from. But yeah, that's
(17:34):
a whole other ball of wax. We could talk some
other time. But the bottom line is, I understand from
a taxpayer's point of view, why we would keep them
in the Everglades as opposed to like a foreign country,
because you know, I'm all about saving the taxpayer money.
I think flying into a foreign country, You're right, I
think that would cost a little bit more. And then
you've got all kinds of additional you know, unforeseen expenses
that are going to come up, and yeah, it's just
(17:55):
it just starts to spiral out the out of control
from there in terms of you know, what was originally
budgeted versus what's expected to be spent. From the other
countries point of view.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Well, this is this is something that's going to be
discussed for some time to come, because even as many
as are here, even though that we've seen less and
fewer and fewer border incursions, there's a lot of people here.
They are being gathered up, especially those that are criminals
those that are doing the worst of the worst kind
of stuff, and we are going to it's going to
take a while to get them all out, and they're
going to have to be put somewhere while that happens.
So this is probably going to go on for a while. Chris,
(18:26):
I appreciate you coming in, sharing your thoughts, your insight
about the region with me and speaking to our people
here in Alabama. Is there anything else you wanted to
add with regard to the situation.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, I think as a Florida resident now, one of
the things that most Florida people will tell you is
we're just we're trying to slow down a lot of
the extensive development simply because you know, Florida has always
been a nice mix of natural you know, beauty, and
then of course you have people who want to come
down there and live and work. And it's a thin
line to walk between obviously economic success and watching out
(19:00):
for the ecosystem itself. So I understand both points of view,
especially from the Seminoles side, because they are trying to
keep the Everglades as a preserve and keep it from
being overdeveloped or you know, I guess you could say
overtreaded upon. But then again, I also see the point
of view from our own federal government where they're trying
to keep detainees under control and not spend too much
taxpayer money in the process. So, like I said, it's
(19:24):
clash of the Titans time. And I imagine there's going
to probably be some lawsuits coming from the seminoles toward
the federal government, and the course you're gonna see whatever
plays out in court. But yeah, you've got a group
of people that are trying to stop fanboats and swamp
buggies and you know, hunters from or poachers or whoever
it is, you know, from tearing the place up. Then
you got developers coming down there to possibly lay in
(19:45):
wastewater facilities. So it's quite an interesting dynamic. It's very interesting,
to say the least.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Doctor Chris Drunk, thank you so much for coming by
Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
I'm John Mount and this is the Alabama Radio Network.
And this week we heard the shocking news out of Brent,
out of bib County about the child prostitution ring. And
for those of you who are traveling to church today,
I want to warn you that we're going to cover
some kind of sensitive stuff. So if you've got kids
in the car, maybe this isn't the program for you.
(20:14):
But we had a chance to sit down and speak
with the Sheriff of Bib County. JT spoke with him.
Here's part of that interview.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
Joining us now the Sheriff of Bib County, Jody Wade,
to talk a little bit more about how the investigation
is going and this horrific case with these sex traffickers
that are now in jail. Sheriff, welcome in. Thanks for
being with me.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Yes, sir, thank you for having me.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Well, I'm sure this is one of the most disgusting,
horrific scenes that you've ever come across, or crimes that
you've worked on in your career, and it's got to
be overwhelming to you and your staff. Are you getting
any help from the state or federal law enforcement agencies?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
We've gotten calls from every agency in the state and
on the national level. The Secret Services reached out to
us to help us with any kind of electronic devices
that we've taken into evidence to try to break those
so that we can determine if there's more suspects, or
where they're at, or how the money's being sent. And
(21:12):
transferred and all those other things. So, yeah, we've gotten
a tremendous outpouring of offers for help in this investigation.
It is overwhelming and it's a lot. So we're appreciative
of all the help that we've been offered and that
we're getting.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Yeah. I spoke with our Attorney General, Steve Marshall Friday
about this, and I asked him as well, any support
that the sheriff needs and the other agencies that may
end up being involved in this, and he said there
was a possibility that you know, the FED, the FBIS
and the bigger organizations on a federal level maybe become
involved in this, this being possibly federal crimes that are
(21:48):
involved here. Can you speak to whether or not this
is state or could be potentially federal crimes.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Well, I'm sure as the investigation continues and as we
discover more leads and things like that, this is probably
going to get to the point where it's going to
reach outside of our jurisdiction. So when you have a
larger federal agency and a state agency that can come
in and help you with those apprehensions and prosecutions. If
different crimes similar to this, you know, happened in other
(22:16):
states or something like that. Yeah, that they're going to
be a tremendous asset to help us in the investigation,
in the prosecution of other perpetrators and things like that.
So we've had a big outpouring of a support.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
You know, when you get a call like this from
you know, somebody in the community says, I've got to
report this situation that's happening here. You know, you realize, Okay,
we've got this or this going on X, Y or
Z crime. Let's go and look at it and see
what's happening. Is it rare that you walk in and
all of a sudden, Oh my gosh, this is worse
and bigger and more disgusting than I could have ever imagined.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
This would be a prime example. But because when we
were first made aware of it by the department team
and resources and my investigators immediately go to the scene,
they're like, Okay, this is child abuse, and then as
they start digging deeper, they're like, oh my god, this
is child trafficking. And so it just kind of it
just kind of blew up from there. So sometimes you'll
see something small, not that that is a small crime,
(23:16):
but you'll see something you think is just relatively an
isolated event and then it turns into something big. So
sometimes you never know what you're walking into. And my
investigators have done a tremendous job in uncovering all these
details of this case.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
How did you find out about it? What was the
initial call or you know, way that you became aware of? Okay,
we got to go take a look at Was it
a resident a family member who called or made you
aware that there needs to be something looked at here?
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Well, as I said, the Department of Human Resources, one
of their case workers contacted my chief investigator, Chris Pooh,
and made him aware of a suspicion that she had
and that's when he went and looked into it. And
as he started, you know, working the case and looking
into it, he saw what it was developing into and
called me immediately to tell me, say, we've got a
(24:06):
child sex trafficking ring here. And that's a good thing
about a small county is you know, most people in
the county have my cell phone number. If something looks funny,
they'll call me. Most of them have you know, Christ's
cell phone number. They're gonna call him. So a lot
of times in a small county, you don't have the
anonymity if that's the correct word, that you would in
a larger county to where people know who their neighbors are.
(24:29):
So this type of thing is not an event that's
just something in big county. This happens at a lot
of different places, and there's a lot of different agencies,
law enforcement officers that work cases Unfortunately, very similar to this.
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Yeah, Unfortunately, this is rampant in our country and in
the state of Alabama, sex trafficking and kids being abused
like this, and a lot of times people think, oh,
this is like the Liam Neeson movie taken as far
as trafficking goes. No, most of the time things like this,
and these victims are familiar. You know, they're with the
family members, they know these people. And when you looked
(25:06):
and investigated this, these kids that you've rescued and sent
to DHR at this point, were all of these kids
tied to the criminals, all of them in some way
related or in the family.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
If they weren't related, they were children of some of
their associates. So it wasn't like these were some strange
children that they were abducted. In another state ball here
for the purpose of tracking Most of these victims, of course,
knew who their offenders were, as far as the people
that's were close to them, their caretakers, if you will.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Well, the mother, I understand one of her children was
one of the victims here that she was selling for
people to come have sex with. Is that or true? Yes, sir,
that's just I mean, I can't even fathom that you
would do that with a child like that, and watch
what took place here. It's just I mean, I hope
these people right in hell. And it seems that Jodie,
(26:00):
we're speaking with Jody Wade, the sheriff of vib County,
and what is taking place in this investigation? Are there
others now involved that you're zoning in on, whether they're
perpetrators or victims? Are we just scratching the surface of
where this may end up?
Speaker 4 (26:14):
I'm afraid we are probably just scratching the surface. And
you know, as this case evolved from the initial report
and where it started, we don't know where it's going
to end. We don't know how many unidentified perpetrators are
out there. They could be states away in traveling here
for this. I don't know that I'm speculating, but we're
(26:36):
preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. And unfortunately,
in this case, as bad as this sounds to say,
the easy parts over. We've got all the known victims
in a safe place where their protected love to be
cared for. We've got the known local suspects. Now the
hard work begins to try to track down the unknowns
(26:57):
that are possibly out there.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
Well, you know, that was my next question. Are these criminals,
these perpetrators cooperating with law enforcement and speaking more about
this and giving you information that you want, or are
they just kind of tight lipped about all of this
and not cooperating at all.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
Some of them are cooperating, some of them are not.
I think the longer they have time to sit there
and maybe repent and confess, we'll get the answer to
all the questions that we have to better serve these children.
I feel like, you know, it's a little of both.
Some of them are cooperating to a certain extent, some
of them are totally cooperating, and some of them are
(27:37):
just prove it so wow, like I said, working and
the longer they have to sit there and get their
heads clear and contemplate exactly what they have done, what
they have called to these children. I'm hoping there might
be just a spark of conscience somewhere in their soul
that they're going to come forward and do the right thing.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
Yeah. And we're talking with Jody Wade, the sheriff and
bib County now. And Jody I was talking, as I mentioned,
with Steve Marshall, Attorney General, this past Friday, and the
subject of the penalty for folks like this. It's my opinion,
if you commit a felony sex crime against children like this,
the death penalty should be on the table. And he said,
as a matter of fact, we're looking at bringing that
(28:15):
legislation back up and trying to get that passed through
in Montgomery. Are you a proponent of Absolutely, these guys
and gals that are involved in this should face the
death penalty.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Absolutely. If anything deserves the death penalty, this is it.
My Senator April Weaver immediately reached out to me and
told me that she was already looking at bringing back
up some prior legislation that another senator or conressman or
something had bought up in reference to making child text
trafficking death penalty eligible. So my senator is already on
(28:50):
top of it and I'm going to follow her leave.
But yes, death, I just wish it was swift.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
Yeah, Amen to that. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Well.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
We know I've seen study after study on rehabilitation and
people that commit these types of crimes, from psychiatrists to
officials in law enforcements say these people cannot and won't
ever be rehabilitated. To me, it's like a spike deer
in the herd, and sometimes you got to call the
herd and take the bad ones out period. End of
(29:19):
the story. You're no longer playing in society. Well, Jody,
I really appreciate your time with us this morning. Thank
you so much. God bless your team and everybody working
on this, and God bless those young children. It's just
awful and I hope swift is the word in this
and getting these people brought to justice. Let's stay in touch, Jody,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yes, sir, thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
President Trump's proposal for housing illegal immigrants in a facility
that has been dubbed Alligator Alcatraz has drawn some iyre
over recent weeks. Hello, I'm John Mounts and this is
Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. Joining me now
to talk about this is doctor Chris Drunk. He's a
former Birmingham area resident and now resides in Florida. Recently
he returned from the Everglades. Chris, welcome to Viewpoint.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Thank you for having me. It's great to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
So last Thursday, at a press conference held by Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis, a Heckler he was actually talking about
hul Cogan and a Heckler interrupted and said, this, so
like the.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
First few WrestleManias I think were like that, And I
remember WrestleMania three. He was up, hey, stop, stop, stop, I.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Get out of here, get here, get out of here,
Get out of.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Here, get out of here.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
So you used to have the closed circuit.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
This is the frustration that has been espoused by a
lot of people all over the country. They're frustrated about
this thing and is a little bit controversial. Pretty much
anything Donald Trump has proposed over the course of the
last his current administration of the previous one has been
somewhat controversial, So I wanted to get your perspective on
this because you're familiar with the area. So Chris, if
you could describe first what the Alligator Ally area and
(01:25):
more specifically the part proposed Alligator Alcatraz, what it was
in what is becoming?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yes, thank you, it's like it's like we said earlier.
One of the most interesting things that I've taken from
this is how the Everglades are always changing and then
always kind of a new I guess you could say
phase keeps coming around the horizons. The Seminoles, as you know,
the Seminole tribe. Betty Osciola heads the Seminole Tribal Council
(01:53):
down there, and she has rightfully so, a lot of
influence over what the National Park is doing in terms
of the future of the park itself. The Seminoles are
more conservationists and naturalists, and they're trying to treat the
Everglades as a preserve and they like to leave things
as they are naturally, as you know. And one of
(02:15):
the things that is interesting is that was how that
airfield that was originally constructed down there. I want to
say it was two or three decades ago. The airfield
was brought into place, and then the Seminoles were kind
of upset because they realized how much was going to
have to go into development for a proper airport, and
so construction and funding was eventually stopped, and then the
(02:37):
airfield just stood as it was.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
And the airfield had one of the largest runways in America.
It was something like twelve like fifteen hundred or fifteen
thousand feet something.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Like that exactly. It's quite a considerable two or three miles. Yes,
you can transition, I learned when I was in Afghanistan.
Depending on the size of the airfield, you can transition
quite a number of large aircraft. And as you know
from your own experience in aviation, the larger the airfield,
the more beneficial it is to getting different types of
(03:08):
aircraft in there.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And the whole Now, of course, the Everglades is very expansive.
So even when we talk about an airfield with a
with a with a ten thousand and fifteen thousand foot runway,
it's still a very small drop in the bucket in
terms of the amount of land that the Everglades occupies. Nevertheless,
we don't want to just damage the you know, the environment,
just for no good reason. But this is land that
(03:31):
was already kind of sort of in use. We weren't
using it, but I mean we'd already improved it to
a degree, so there already was an airstrip on it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Right, So when they built it, the seminoles were, like
I said, they were quite upset because they want to
keep it like a preserve. So that's why I construction stopped,
and then the government, the current administration for under President Trump,
has decided to use it. Is kind of like a
It was originally, you know, pushed as a temporary place,
but I've received some information from some of the folks
(03:59):
who lived down there. I was when I was down
there for the Python Challenge, which is quite an incredible event.
I'll talk to that later. But when I was down there,
the initial thought was, Okay, this is going to be
a temporary thing. But then I've come to understand there's
a lot more going on. So while I was down there,
it was told I was informed that there is quite
(04:21):
an extensive amount of contracting going into place for permanent
wastewater facilities, plumbing, piping that kind of thing industrial you know,
sewage capacity to accommodate the you know, fifteen hundred or
so people who are currently there, to include staff, guards
and so forth, as well as the detainees. So what
(04:43):
I guess I'm trying to say to you is, and
a simple foil request could probably clear this up, is
what was started off as temporary seems to becoming more permanent,
which is what's causing the seminoles of course to you know,
have a lot of you know, frustration and probable anger
over all of this.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
So let's talk about the facility. When we talk about it,
tempt to permanent it because I've heard it described everything
from you know, tents and imagine like these old army
tents like we used to have and we went to
Camp Sequoia, you know, those little green tents. But I've
seen pictures of this facility and it's actually these are
very these are tents, they are still temporary facilities, but
(05:19):
they are very strong temporary facilities, and there is plumbing.
There's actually showers, and there's toilets and that sort of thing.
So it is a there is infrastructure going into this, right.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yeah, So I think I think, like we said those
who probably want to know more particulars. I would welcome
a foil request because you can, you can definitely request that.
But what I'm trying to say here is it seems
if they're going to put permanent wastewater in plumbing systems
into the into the area, that more permanent facilities were
(05:49):
probably soon to follow. I would just imagine, and I'm
just like I said, I'm just making an educated guess here.
If they're using bottled water in porta potties right now,
but then they're laying in large scale wastewater facilities, I
would like or I'm inclined to believe that more permanent
structures are coming.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
And it looks like there are there are toilets, at
least they're flushable toilets. And I've heard I heard some
of the inmates. I was listening to some reporting some
of the inmates. They were complaining that the water pressure
is not good in the showers. But this does kind
of I'm reminded that this isn't holiday inn These these
people are being detained for reasons, and so it is
(06:28):
kind of like a well, it's a jail and they
have they're at least alleged to have broken the law
for starters coming into the country illegally, and many of
them have broken many more laws while they were here,
and that's the reason they're being detained, and that's why
the facilities are not great, and that's why I think
it's become a political hot button issue as to the
conditions on the ground. In fact, there was recently a
(06:48):
tour conducted of it was a bipartisan both Democrat and
Republican legislators from Florida toward the facility and this is
what Representative bays Ignacio had to say.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
It's actually a very well run facility. The idea that
the detainees are in there and they're in squalid conditions
is just not accurate.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
And on the other hand, some of the Democrats are
saying the opposite. They're saying, this is a concentration camp.
This is the horrible squalid conditions. From what the video
I've seen, and you also got to look up close,
it didn't look dirty. It didn't look like the holiday inn.
There were definitely I mean, obviously they're being detained, so yes,
there are there bunks, and the bunks are surrounded by
(07:33):
I can only describe it as a cage is the
wrong word, but it looks like how would you It's
like it's almost like fencing around around the bunk, so
they couldn't just escape.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
When you have temporary facilities, it's not going to be
obviously as luxurious as these folks would like. But then again,
I also realize that, like we said before, the Seminole tribe,
this goes back to I'm sorry if I forget the year,
but when these Seminoles, because the Seminole as a Native
American group, they're a fascinating group of people because they
(08:04):
didn't quite get beaten like a lot of the Native
American tribes date out west. They were actually quite successful
in negotiating different terms and contracts with the United States government.
And what I'm trying to say is they have a
little bit more sway and a little bit more ability
to have terms as they see them. So the interesting
thing in all this is getting a permanent facility established
(08:26):
down there may be a little bit more difficult than
people think, because, like I said, they do have their
own I guess you could say way of resolving things.
And the prisoners of course or excuse me, detainees that
down there are probably saying, you know, they want something
more permanent. They want, you know, something that they can
feel is a little bit more stable in terms of
maybe during hurricane season. I could understand, like if you
(08:48):
told me I'd just stay a FEMA trailer during hurricane season,
I wouldn't be too thrilled about that myself. But I understand,
you know, some of the different arguments here.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
And of course I have spoke with some of our
report We have reporters in Miami. I've spoken with them,
and they said, for the most part, where this is
located in the Everglades, even if we took a direct
hit with like say a Cat five on the coast
as far inland as it is, it would be downgraded
more like say a Cat three by the time it
got there. And these facilities are believed to be strong
enough to withstand Cat two even Cat three style winds,
(09:19):
And really you're more looking at water, and they say
the drainage is adequate for that sort of situation. So
they're not anticipating disaster like what you saw in Katrina
or something like that, where you have a flood or
something like that. At least that's not the anticipation for
the area Chris. Let's move on this. By the way,
it's Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama Radio Network. My name
is John Mounts speaking with doctor Chris Strunk, who is
(09:40):
from the Birmingham area. Recently toured had a chance to
to spend some time in Alligator Alley, in around Alligator Alcatraz.
One of the reasons why, of course the original Alcatraz
was picked was because San Francisco Bay is inhospitable. It's
difficult to get off of the island, and so that
we created a deterrent. One of the reasons why this
is being picked is for the sake reason because it's
(10:01):
considered inhospitable. Let's talk about the conditions surrounding the facility.
If someone were to climb over some of these fences
and out of the tents and everything else, and they
were to get out there into the wilderness, it's not
the same thing as Oak Mountain.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
Is it. No.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
So, while I was down there, and I really this
is my second time down there, I really enjoyed, you know,
getting to know everything that I did, and the natural
swamp and it is a wild it's a wilderness down there.
If you get off the trail systems and by the way,
the Everglades proper is only covered about four percent in
(10:37):
terms of a trail or road system. The other ninety
six percent is pretty much a wild swamp. And in
a wild swamp land anything goes. Just because you take
one or two steps forward, and wild swamp doesn't mean
the next two steps are going to be stable enough
to step through, because it could be very well of
marsh and then you fall through and then the next
thing you know, you're chest deep in water. There's all
(10:59):
kinds of things down there. In terms of animals, there's
obviously alligators. There's very dangerous venomous snakes. Water moccasins are
very aggressive if you come into their territory, especially during
mating season. Then you've got, of course, or poisonous spiders
like the brown reclues, the black widow. You've got all
kinds of, you know, unpleasant conditions should you deviate from
(11:23):
what I would classify as a trail or road system.
And it's definitely not hospitable at all. It's very hot
during the day. You're talking UV radiation levels at the
eleven twelve in some cases range, simply because it's so
close to the equator.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Down there, and for those who are actually on the
facility being detained, the tents are air conditioned. They were
complaining the tents aren't well air conditioned, but they're air conditioned,
which is better than nothing, right.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
And then the other thing is, of course, the invasive species.
I was down there for the Florida Wildlife Commissions Python Challenge,
an annual event where where they bring together trained and
professional types who come down there to try to get
rid of the pythons which are destroying the ecosystem down there.
As you know, a python will eat just about any
kind of small, warm blooded mammal. That's why, unfortunately the Everglades,
(12:19):
and I'm not saying it's they're all completely gone, but
it's it's unfortunate because you've got a complete loss of
the bobcats, the raccoons, the rabbits, the possums, a lot
of species of birds in particular used.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Be panthers too, didn't.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
They Right, So the panther is slowly coming back to
the state of Florida, thankfully, some of their population numbers
seems to be increasing in certain parts of the state,
but the state or the Everglades in general, excuse me,
it's it's becoming like when you go down there, you're
going to get swarm by mosquitoes. First of all, the
mosquito population I think has grown substantially because there's nothing
(12:55):
for them to chew on. You know, normally an ecosystem
would would provide mammal Even the deer are disappearing from
the Everglades because of these pythons. There's estimated anywhere between
fifty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand pythons, and
none of them belong there.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
I was gonna say, you mentioned pythons being an invasive species,
meaning that they're not native. They are actually I think
native to South America, like the Amazon.
Speaker 2 (13:18):
Right, so I believe the Burmese python is actually native
to Asia. But the reticulated python, if I'm not mistaken,
is a is a South American snake.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
And they were brought in to America as pets and
then somebody said, they, oh, how cute it's you know,
eighteen inches long, And then eighteen inches becomes you know,
eighteen feet and they don't want it, and then they
turn it loot. They figure, well, we'll turn it back
to the environment where it belongs. But it doesn't belong
in that environment, and that's what creates that situation with
invasive because the balance isn't there and all of a sudden,
(13:47):
nature is well out of balance, which I guess is
the reason why they have the You were talking about
the Python challenge where the state invites people to come
in and actually do something about the python. They it's
kind of interesting. It's a great solution to we got
this problem. Rather than government solving it, We're going to
invite people, make it a tourist thing to come down
here and take care of the problem for us.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Right, So, with the proper training, because you have to
complete some training before you go down there, because they
don't let just anybody come down there. I mean, you
have to do some training. And then once you do
the training, you have to register with the State of Florida,
and then they have to know kind of like who
you are, where you're coming from, and then so they
kind of, like I said, they have a little bit
of a background check to make sure you're not just
some waco going down there to cause trouble. And then
(14:28):
the other thing is because they try to treat like
a preserve rightfully, so they encourage everyone to stay on
the trails and stay out of the canals, and stay
out of the wild swamp, because, like I said, it
is very dangerous, like you're really playing with your own life.
Should you choose to deviate from the trail and road
systems throughout the Everglades, Because like I said, it has
covered about four percent of the Everglades, but then the
(14:49):
other ninety six percent is wild swamp. And then once
you get in the wild swamp, you really you're taking
your chances. I wouldn't recommend it.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
So what you're saying, bottom line is these detainees who
are on base, they probably our edge. I imagine we
have a robust education system to teach those people who
are being take detained. Here are all the reasons why
you want to stay inside your air conditioned tent with
the showers that aren't so hot. Sometimes.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Yes, yes, I I've laugh it because yes, if I
were a detainee, I wouldn't recommend just wandering off into
the wild swamp. I can't quite think that would be
a good idea to say.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Chris, you know you and I we we were we
were in boy Scouts together years ago and we went
off to summer camp the conditions in summer camp. Quite frankly,
as compared to what I'm seeing there at what what
I've seen for Alligator Alcatraz, I think Alligator Alcatraz looks
pretty nice compared to what we went through.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Yeah. Well, like I said, the detainees after the Senate
and congressional folks have been down there to check things out,
and rightfully so, they're just trying to look out for,
you know, any probable you know, you know, any problems,
I should say. But what I'm trying to say here
is the detainees are if they're in an air conditioned
facility that's secure, and they you know, they're not subject
(15:59):
to you know, a venomous snake in their bag for example,
I would like to think they're probably actually in a
decent place. And the other thing we haven't talked about
is the fact that they're not really in harm's way
down there. If they decided to get out, then the course,
like I said, they'd be taking their chances.
Speaker 1 (16:19):
So it's best for them to stay where they are.
And this is temporary. Not only is the facility, I
assume it's got to be somewhat temporary, or it wouldn't
be tends to be buildings, but also their detention is
temporary until we can move them to their final destination
once they're adjudicated. And there's been discussion of putting them,
and I've heard other ideas about putting them in third
(16:39):
like a third country, like I think Angola, there's some
African countries, Senegal, there's some of these countries that yeah,
we'll take, We'll take a few because the government will
pay them and if this country is strapped for cash,
it might be worth their while to send them there.
But that doesn't seem like it's a good way for
us to do if economically efficient for America because for starters,
we have to get them there and then we have
to keep paying the country to take care of them.
Although seem like reasons not to do that and rather
(17:02):
to keep them on shore. I never understood why it
is we kept Guantanamo Bay open for so long with
with prisoners there as opposed to putting the prisoners here.
Was the idea we didn't want to put foreign combatants
on our soil.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
Yeah, so you have to remember the incident you put
like a person from al Qaeda for example, or some
other you know, nefarious or terrorist group inside the United States.
Now they have constitutional rights and then they can use
you know, the US Constitution to basically exonerate whatever it
is or trying to exonerate themselves from. But yeah, that's
(17:34):
a whole other ball of wax. We could talk some
other time. But the bottom line is, I understand from
a taxpayer's point of view, why we would keep them
in the Everglades as opposed to like a foreign country,
because you know, I'm all about saving the taxpayer money.
I think flying into a foreign country, You're right, I
think that would cost a little bit more. And then
you've got all kinds of additional you know, unforeseen expenses
that are going to come up, and yeah, it's just
(17:55):
it just starts to spiral out the out of control
from there in terms of you know, what was originally
budgeted versus what's expected to be spent. From the other
countries point of view.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Well, this is this is something that's going to be
discussed for some time to come, because even as many
as are here, even though that we've seen less and
fewer and fewer border incursions, there's a lot of people here.
They are being gathered up, especially those that are criminals
those that are doing the worst of the worst kind
of stuff, and we are going to it's going to
take a while to get them all out, and they're
going to have to be put somewhere while that happens.
So this is probably going to go on for a while. Chris,
(18:26):
I appreciate you coming in, sharing your thoughts, your insight
about the region with me and speaking to our people
here in Alabama. Is there anything else you wanted to
add with regard to the situation.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Yeah, I think as a Florida resident now, one of
the things that most Florida people will tell you is
we're just we're trying to slow down a lot of
the extensive development simply because you know, Florida has always
been a nice mix of natural you know, beauty, and
then of course you have people who want to come
down there and live and work. And it's a thin
line to walk between obviously economic success and watching out
(19:00):
for the ecosystem itself. So I understand both points of view,
especially from the Seminoles side, because they are trying to
keep the Everglades as a preserve and keep it from
being overdeveloped or you know, I guess you could say
overtreaded upon. But then again, I also see the point
of view from our own federal government where they're trying
to keep detainees under control and not spend too much
taxpayer money in the process. So, like I said, it's
(19:24):
clash of the Titans time. And I imagine there's going
to probably be some lawsuits coming from the seminoles toward
the federal government, and the course you're gonna see whatever
plays out in court. But yeah, you've got a group
of people that are trying to stop fanboats and swamp
buggies and you know, hunters from or poachers or whoever
it is, you know, from tearing the place up. Then
you got developers coming down there to possibly lay in
(19:45):
wastewater facilities. So it's quite an interesting dynamic. It's very interesting,
to say the least.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Doctor Chris Drunk, thank you so much for coming by
Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
I'm John Mount and this is the Alabama Radio Network.
And this week we heard the shocking news out of Brent,
out of bib County about the child prostitution ring. And
for those of you who are traveling to church today,
I want to warn you that we're going to cover
some kind of sensitive stuff. So if you've got kids
in the car, maybe this isn't the program for you.
(20:14):
But we had a chance to sit down and speak
with the Sheriff of Bib County. JT spoke with him.
Here's part of that interview.
Speaker 5 (20:21):
Joining us now the Sheriff of Bib County, Jody Wade,
to talk a little bit more about how the investigation
is going and this horrific case with these sex traffickers
that are now in jail. Sheriff, welcome in. Thanks for
being with me.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Yes, sir, thank you for having me.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
Well, I'm sure this is one of the most disgusting,
horrific scenes that you've ever come across, or crimes that
you've worked on in your career, and it's got to
be overwhelming to you and your staff. Are you getting
any help from the state or federal law enforcement agencies?
Speaker 4 (20:51):
We've gotten calls from every agency in the state and
on the national level. The Secret Services reached out to
us to help us with any kind of electronic devices
that we've taken into evidence to try to break those
so that we can determine if there's more suspects, or
where they're at, or how the money's being sent. And
(21:12):
transferred and all those other things. So, yeah, we've gotten
a tremendous outpouring of offers for help in this investigation.
It is overwhelming and it's a lot. So we're appreciative
of all the help that we've been offered and that
we're getting.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
Yeah. I spoke with our Attorney General, Steve Marshall Friday
about this, and I asked him as well, any support
that the sheriff needs and the other agencies that may
end up being involved in this, and he said there
was a possibility that you know, the FED, the FBIS
and the bigger organizations on a federal level maybe become
involved in this, this being possibly federal crimes that are
(21:48):
involved here. Can you speak to whether or not this
is state or could be potentially federal crimes.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Well, I'm sure as the investigation continues and as we
discover more leads and things like that, this is probably
going to get to the point where it's going to
reach outside of our jurisdiction. So when you have a
larger federal agency and a state agency that can come
in and help you with those apprehensions and prosecutions. If
different crimes similar to this, you know, happened in other
(22:16):
states or something like that. Yeah, that they're going to
be a tremendous asset to help us in the investigation,
in the prosecution of other perpetrators and things like that.
So we've had a big outpouring of a support.
Speaker 5 (22:29):
You know, when you get a call like this from
you know, somebody in the community says, I've got to
report this situation that's happening here. You know, you realize, Okay,
we've got this or this going on X, Y or
Z crime. Let's go and look at it and see
what's happening. Is it rare that you walk in and
all of a sudden, Oh my gosh, this is worse
and bigger and more disgusting than I could have ever imagined.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
This would be a prime example. But because when we
were first made aware of it by the department team
and resources and my investigators immediately go to the scene,
they're like, Okay, this is child abuse, and then as
they start digging deeper, they're like, oh my god, this
is child trafficking. And so it just kind of it
just kind of blew up from there. So sometimes you'll
see something small, not that that is a small crime,
(23:16):
but you'll see something you think is just relatively an
isolated event and then it turns into something big. So
sometimes you never know what you're walking into. And my
investigators have done a tremendous job in uncovering all these
details of this case.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
How did you find out about it? What was the
initial call or you know, way that you became aware of? Okay,
we got to go take a look at Was it
a resident a family member who called or made you
aware that there needs to be something looked at here?
Speaker 4 (23:46):
Well, as I said, the Department of Human Resources, one
of their case workers contacted my chief investigator, Chris Pooh,
and made him aware of a suspicion that she had
and that's when he went and looked into it. And
as he started, you know, working the case and looking
into it, he saw what it was developing into and
called me immediately to tell me, say, we've got a
(24:06):
child sex trafficking ring here. And that's a good thing
about a small county is you know, most people in
the county have my cell phone number. If something looks funny,
they'll call me. Most of them have you know, Christ's
cell phone number. They're gonna call him. So a lot
of times in a small county, you don't have the
anonymity if that's the correct word, that you would in
a larger county to where people know who their neighbors are.
(24:29):
So this type of thing is not an event that's
just something in big county. This happens at a lot
of different places, and there's a lot of different agencies,
law enforcement officers that work cases Unfortunately, very similar to this.
Speaker 5 (24:45):
Yeah, Unfortunately, this is rampant in our country and in
the state of Alabama, sex trafficking and kids being abused
like this, and a lot of times people think, oh,
this is like the Liam Neeson movie taken as far
as trafficking goes. No, most of the time things like this,
and these victims are familiar. You know, they're with the
family members, they know these people. And when you looked
(25:06):
and investigated this, these kids that you've rescued and sent
to DHR at this point, were all of these kids
tied to the criminals, all of them in some way
related or in the family.
Speaker 4 (25:17):
If they weren't related, they were children of some of
their associates. So it wasn't like these were some strange
children that they were abducted. In another state ball here
for the purpose of tracking Most of these victims, of course,
knew who their offenders were, as far as the people
that's were close to them, their caretakers, if you will.
Speaker 5 (25:39):
Well, the mother, I understand one of her children was
one of the victims here that she was selling for
people to come have sex with. Is that or true? Yes, sir,
that's just I mean, I can't even fathom that you
would do that with a child like that, and watch
what took place here. It's just I mean, I hope
these people right in hell. And it seems that Jodie,
(26:00):
we're speaking with Jody Wade, the sheriff of vib County,
and what is taking place in this investigation? Are there
others now involved that you're zoning in on, whether they're
perpetrators or victims? Are we just scratching the surface of
where this may end up?
Speaker 4 (26:14):
I'm afraid we are probably just scratching the surface. And
you know, as this case evolved from the initial report
and where it started, we don't know where it's going
to end. We don't know how many unidentified perpetrators are
out there. They could be states away in traveling here
for this. I don't know that I'm speculating, but we're
(26:36):
preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. And unfortunately,
in this case, as bad as this sounds to say,
the easy parts over. We've got all the known victims
in a safe place where their protected love to be
cared for. We've got the known local suspects. Now the
hard work begins to try to track down the unknowns
(26:57):
that are possibly out there.
Speaker 5 (26:58):
Well, you know, that was my next question. Are these criminals,
these perpetrators cooperating with law enforcement and speaking more about
this and giving you information that you want, or are
they just kind of tight lipped about all of this
and not cooperating at all.
Speaker 4 (27:14):
Some of them are cooperating, some of them are not.
I think the longer they have time to sit there
and maybe repent and confess, we'll get the answer to
all the questions that we have to better serve these children.
I feel like, you know, it's a little of both.
Some of them are cooperating to a certain extent, some
of them are totally cooperating, and some of them are
(27:37):
just prove it so wow, like I said, working and
the longer they have to sit there and get their
heads clear and contemplate exactly what they have done, what
they have called to these children. I'm hoping there might
be just a spark of conscience somewhere in their soul
that they're going to come forward and do the right thing.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
Yeah. And we're talking with Jody Wade, the sheriff and
bib County now. And Jody I was talking, as I mentioned,
with Steve Marshall, Attorney General, this past Friday, and the
subject of the penalty for folks like this. It's my opinion,
if you commit a felony sex crime against children like this,
the death penalty should be on the table. And he said,
as a matter of fact, we're looking at bringing that
(28:15):
legislation back up and trying to get that passed through
in Montgomery. Are you a proponent of Absolutely, these guys
and gals that are involved in this should face the
death penalty.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
Absolutely. If anything deserves the death penalty, this is it.
My Senator April Weaver immediately reached out to me and
told me that she was already looking at bringing back
up some prior legislation that another senator or conressman or
something had bought up in reference to making child text
trafficking death penalty eligible. So my senator is already on
(28:50):
top of it and I'm going to follow her leave.
But yes, death, I just wish it was swift.
Speaker 5 (28:55):
Yeah, Amen to that. Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
Well.
Speaker 5 (28:58):
We know I've seen study after study on rehabilitation and
people that commit these types of crimes, from psychiatrists to
officials in law enforcements say these people cannot and won't
ever be rehabilitated. To me, it's like a spike deer
in the herd, and sometimes you got to call the
herd and take the bad ones out period. End of
(29:19):
the story. You're no longer playing in society. Well, Jody,
I really appreciate your time with us this morning. Thank
you so much. God bless your team and everybody working
on this, and God bless those young children. It's just
awful and I hope swift is the word in this
and getting these people brought to justice. Let's stay in touch, Jody,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yes, sir, thank you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program
from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed on Viewpoint
Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management, or
advertisers of this station.
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