West Virginia couple sentenced to more than 300 years for making adopted Black children slaves

A West Virginia couple was sentenced to more than 300 years combined in prison after being convicted for abusing some of their adopted children, who are Black, including forcing them to perform heavy labor like “slaves.”

West Virginia couple convicted for abusing adoptive Black children

On Jan. 29, a jury found Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and her husband, Donald Lantz guilty on multiple counts of forced labor, human trafficking, and child abuse and neglect. Whitefeather also was convicted of civil rights violations based on race.

This week, Lantz, 62, was sentenced to 160 years and Whitefeather, 63, was sentenced to 215 years in prison, the New York Times reported.

“You brought these children to West Virginia, a place that I know is ‘almost heaven,’ and you put them in hell,” Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Maryclaire Akers said during sentencing, WCHS reported. “This court will now put you in yours. And may God have mercy on your souls, because this court will not.”

West Virginia couple reportedly began abuse in 2023

A 16-count indictment was filed against the couple alleging the some of the children were targeted because of their race.

“It alleges human trafficking, human rights violations, the use of forced labor,” Akers said during a 2024 hearing about the indictment, according to West Virginia Metro News. “Human rights violations specific to the fact that these children were targeted because of their race and they were used basically as slaves from what the indictment alleges.”

The couple adopted the five Black siblings while living in Minnesota, moved to a farm in Washington state in 2018, then brought the family to Sissonville, West Virginia in May 2023, when the children ranged in age from 5 to 16.

They were arrested five months later in October 2023 after a neighbor called Child Protective Services, alleging that two teenagers, 14 and 16, were locked in a shed at the couple’s home according to court documents obtained by WCHS-TV.

Other neighbors also claimed the children were “forced to perform farm labor and were not permitted inside the residence,” per the documents.

Deputies reportedly found children in bad condition

When deputies responded to the home, they alleged they witnessed two children locked in the shed with a portable toilet and no running water, according to an incident obtained by West Virginia MetroNews. A deputy used a crowbar to get them out.

The children told authorities they were forced to sleep on the floor and had been locked in the shed for about 12 hours, per the indictment.

Inside the main residence, deputies allegedly found a 9-year-old girl crying in a loft alone with no protection from falling, according to a criminal complaint. The children were allegedly found in dirty clothes and smelling of body odor, deputies said, and the oldest boy was found barefoot with what appeared to be sores on his feet.

During trial, neighbors testified they never saw the children play and witnessed Lantz make them stand in line or perform difficult chores around the yard, including lifting heavy items. After Lantz noticed the curious neighbors, the children mostly stayed indoors, reported NBC News. 

The eldest daughter testified that during outdoor work they were forced to use their hands for digging. She also said the children were cursed at “all the time” and that Whitefeather used racist language.

Whitefeather will be eligible for parole after serving 40 years and Lantz after 30.