*A West Virginia couple, Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, have been accused of forcing their adopted Black children to work as slaves and sleep in a barn.
Donald and Jeanne pleaded not guilty to multiple charges after two teens were discovered locked in a deteriorating shed, New York Post reports. The couple allegedly subjected their five adopted children to appalling conditions on their Sissonville property.
Lantz and Whitefeather were arrested in October following a wellness check that uncovered the children—ages 6, 9, 11, 14, and 16—living in horrendous conditions on their property. According to the indictment, the children were forced to work on the couple’s farm due to their race.
“Neighbors also reported that the children were forced to perform farm labor and were not permitted inside the residence,” the filing stated.
Lantz and Whitefeather are charged with offenses including human trafficking of a minor child, using a minor child in forced labor, and child neglect, posing a significant risk of severe bodily harm or death.
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Police became aware of the children’s living conditions after a neighbor reported two teenagers locked in a shed.
Here’s more from The Post:
Police found a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl locked in the shed. Inside was a small RV porta-potty but no lights or running water. One of the teens told police they had been locked in the barn for 12 hours after they were last fed.
The two said the couple forced them to sleep on the concrete floor without any mattresses. They both wore dirty clothes and had body odor, police noted, according to the filing.
The girl wore shoes while the 14-year-old boy had “open sores on his bare feet,” court documents said.
A 9-year-old girl was found by police inside the main residence. Three hours later, Lantz arrived with an 11-year-old boy. Whitefeather soon followed with a 6-year-old girl who’d been with acquaintances.
The children told police that they endured ongoing abuses at the couple’s West Virginia home and residence in Washington state.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Krivonyak argued for a higher bond after the couple paid a $400,000 bond in February, allegedly using profits from trafficking. They reportedly sold an 80-acre ranch in Tonasket, Washington, for $725,000 before their release from jail, and Whitefeather’s brother posted two $200,000 bonds.
The couple also sold their Sissonville property for $295,000 in March. Prosecutors argued that the bond money was intended for human trafficking and forced labor. As a result, Lantz and Whitefeather were returned to custody after their bonds were increased to $500,000 each.
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