A West Virginia couple faces charges of human trafficking, child neglect, forced labor and more after prosecutors allege they adopted five black children from a shelter for forced labor and living in deplorable conditions.
Jane Whitefeather.WSAZ
Jeanne Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, allegedly adopted the children, ages 6 to 16, from a shelter for homeless and vulnerable youth, and subjected them to forced labor specifically because of their race, according to the 16-count indictment.
“It alleges human trafficking, human rights violations, use of forced labor,” Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers said of the allegation, according to West Virginia Metro News. “Human rights violations specific to the fact that these children were targeted because of their race and were basically used as slaves, as the indictment alleges.”
Donald Lantz.WSAZ
Whitefeather and Lantz are being held at the South Central Regional Jail in Kanawha County on $500,000 bail, according to jail records. Both pleaded not guilty earlier this month. Whitefeather’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from KeynoteUSA. Lantz, who court officials say is representing himself, could not be reached for comment.
Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies found the children in October during a welfare check at the couple’s home in Sissonville. Officers forced entry into a barn on the property, where they found two children in a small room.
“The children had no means of leaving the barn alone, no running water, no sanitary facilities, and were evidently deprived of hygienic care and adequate food,” police said in a statement At the time. Police said they later found a “little boy” locked alone inside the main house.
The two children in the barn, ages 14 and 16, said they had been locked inside for about 12 hours when they were found and were forced to sleep on the bare concrete floor, according to the indictment. Court documents indicated that the children were dirty, had a strong body odor and that the 14-year-old boy had “open sores on his bare feet.”
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“Neighbors also reported that the children were forced to perform farm work and were not allowed to enter the residence,” WVMN reported, citing the file.
During the hearing, According to the KeynoteUSAWhitefeather’s attorney, Mark Plants, said there was a key inside the shed where the teens were found, and there was “just a plain and simple misunderstanding about what’s going on here.”
Lantz arrived home hours later with an 11-year-old boy and led officers to a 6-year-old girl who was staying with friends of the couple, according to WCHS.
The couple is accused of abusing the boys initially at their 80-acre ranch in Washington state, and then in West Virginia, where they moved after learning they were under investigation. Metro News reported.
The couple first posted their combined $400,000 bail, but earlier this month a judge ruled the bail was too low and increased their bonds to $500,000 each. Prosecutors said they believe the couple posted initial bail with money they earned from human trafficking at their homes in Washington and West Virginia, which they the couple has since sold.
“We believe that the family lived in those two residences while the crimes were committed. That turned the owned residences into contraband,” Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Krivonyak told KeynoteUSA.
“We told him, ‘Judge, we want you to hold onto the money until we have a chance to litigate the claims.’ If we are right, that money should go to the children.’”
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