Mobile Alabama sex ring - Investigators looking into the death of a teenage girl in the wooded coastal region of southern Alabama have uncovered what is being described as the 'largest sex ring' in the history of the state.
According to reports, on May 30th, 2012, Brittney Wood, 19, went missing after heading from Mobile to Baldwin County with her uncle Donnie Holland.
Holland's body was reportedly found a few days later by his wife. The authorities have ruled the death of Holland, who was being investigated for sexual crimes allegation, as suicide. Brittney's relatives say it was not until Holland's body was found that it dawned on them that she was also nowhere to be found.
Investigators looking into the death of Holland and the disappearance of Brittney soon discovered that adult males and some friends of the victim's extended family had been involved in incestuous acts with children as young as 3 and 4 years old. It is unclear how the investigators were led to this revelation. Reports indicate that Brittney's stepmother Stephanie Hanke provided some of the missing girl's private Facebook messages to The Associated Press, which showed that another female relative had confessed to her about being raped by three male relatives only a few days before Brittney's disappearance.
It is unclear how long the Mobile, Alabama sex ring thrived and how many victims and perpetrators were involved. Prosecutors say the late Holland was most likely the leader of the Alabama sex ring.
Reports indicate that at least ten people - including eight relatives of Brittney- have been charged with being part of the Alabama sex ring. At least three of the accused have since pleaded guilty to the charges.
Last month, a Baldwin County court convicted one of the accused members of the Mobile, Alabama sex ring. William Browniee, 50, was charged with sodomy and sexual abuse. Up to three victims of the accused pedophile testified in the trial.
Meanwhile, Brittney remains nowhere to be found and is being presumed dead. There are many speculations that she has long been killed. Authorities say the teenage mother was most likely a victim of the Alabama sex ring and would have been an instrumental witness against the clandestine group.
The Mobile, Alabama sex ring is one of the most widespread and organized pedophilic gang uncovered in the country in recent times. Many authorities have questioned how the Alabama sex ring continued undetected for many years prior to Brittney's disappearance.
