A white West Virginia couple has been sentenced to hundreds of years in prison after being found guilty of forcing their Black adopted children to work as slaves on their farm.
Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, and Donald Lantz, 62, adopted five children between the ages of 6 and 16 from a shelter for vulnerable and homeless youth. Prosecutors say the couple specifically targeted the children because of their race before subjecting them to years of horrific abuse. The children were forced to perform hard labor, deprived of basic needs, and treated like “slaves.”
The abuse came to light in October 2023 after a concerned neighbor called Child Protective Services. When deputies arrived at the couple’s home in Sissonville, they found two of the children, ages 14 and 16, locked in a shed with a portable toilet and no running water. The children told authorities they had been locked inside for 12 hours and were forced to sleep on the cold floor.
Court documents described the children as wearing dirty clothes, and the 14-year-old boy had sores on his feet. A 9-year-old child was found locked alone in the house, while Lantz later returned home with an 11-year-old boy and led deputies to a 6-year-old girl who was staying with family friends. A 16-count indictment accused Whitefeather and Lantz of human trafficking, forced labor, and violating the children’s civil rights. Although the couple pleaded not guilty, they were convicted in January.
“You brought these children to West Virginia, a place that I know as ‘almost heaven,’ and you put them in hell,” Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge MaryClaire Akers said during sentencing, per WCHS. “This court will now put you in yours. And may God have mercy on your souls because this court will not.”
Lantz was sentenced to 160 years in prison after being found guilty of human trafficking, forced labor, child abuse, and neglect. Whitefeather received 215 years after being convicted of the same charges, with an additional conviction for violating the children’s civil rights. The couple was also ordered to pay $280,000 in restitution to each victim.
During the sentencing, Whitefeather reportedly apologized to the children, saying: “I just want the court to know that I have made mistakes. I am very sorry for that, and I love my children. I have never, ever done anything to my … children to harm them intentionally. Children, I do love you,” per NBC News.
The children, who now describe their former adoptive parents as “monsters,” are looking ahead to a brighter future.
“I will be something amazing,” one of the children said, per the news outlet. “I will be strong and beautiful. You will always be exactly what you are — horrible.”
