Page 16 - IAV Digital Magazine #597

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Alleged To Have Kept Five
Adopted Black Children ‘Locked
In Barn And Used As Slaves'
A white couple from West Virginia have been accused of child neglect after allegedly forcing their adopted black chil- dren to work as 'slaves' and locking them in a barn.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, pleaded not guilty at
Kanawha County court on Tuesday to multiple charges, including human traf- ficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labour, and child neglect cre- ating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death, according to local news outlet Metro News.
They also face alle- gations of human rights violations, over specifically targeting black children and forcing them to work because of their race, Metro News said.
Kanawha County cir- cuit Judge Maryclaire Akers claimed that the children were
"used basically as slaves", citing what the indictment alleges.
The couple were first arrested in October 2023 after a wellness check led to the dis- covery of two of the couple's five adopted children - aged six, nine, 11, 14 and 16 - living in inhumane
conditions at a prop- erty in Sissonville.
In a previous state- ment made to the court, Whitefeather alleged that the barn where the 14 and 16- year-old were found in was a "teenage clubhouse" and denied that they were locked in.
A nine-year-old girl was found inside the main house before Lantz came home with an 11-year-old boy and later, Whitefeather returned with a six-year-old.
Their bail has been set at $500,000 each, up from the previous amount of $200,000.
A trial date for the couple has been set for 9 September.
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iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine