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A white couple in West Virginia has been sentenced to many years in jail for the horrific abuse and enslavement of their adopted Black kids, whom they subjected to compelled labor and inhumane circumstances.
Donald Lantz, 62, acquired a 160-year jail sentence, whereas his spouse, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, was sentenced to 215 years, after being convicted on a number of expenses, together with compelled labor, human trafficking, little one abuse, and neglect. Whitefeather was additionally discovered responsible of violating her kids’s civil rights.
‘You Put Them in Hell’ – Choose Condemns Couple
Throughout sentencing, Choose Maryclaire Akers of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court docket delivered a scathing rebuke.
“You introduced these kids to West Virginia, a spot that I do know is ‘virtually heaven,’ and you set them in hell,” she stated. “This court docket will now put you in yours. And should God have mercy in your souls, as a result of this court docket won’t.”
The couple had adopted 5 Black kids in 2018 and moved to Kanawha County in Might 2023. Their crimes have been uncovered in October 2023 when a neighbor known as Baby Protecting Companies, reporting that two youngsters, aged 14 and 16, have been locked inside a shed on the couple’s dwelling in Sissonville.
Pressured to Sleep in a Shed, Handled Like Slaves
Court docket paperwork revealed that the kids have been subjected to compelled farm labor and weren’t allowed inside the home. When deputies arrived, they discovered two kids locked within the shed with no working water and solely a transportable rest room. The kids, carrying filthy garments, advised authorities they’d been locked inside for 12 hours and compelled to sleep on the ground. The oldest boy had sores on his toes from the cruel circumstances.
A 16-count indictment towards the couple detailed the extent of their crimes.
“It alleges human trafficking, human rights violations, and the usage of compelled labor,” Choose Akers said in an earlier listening to. “These kids have been focused due to their race and have been used principally as slaves.”
Survivors Converse Out
Throughout the trial, the oldest daughter testified that the kids have been repeatedly cursed at and compelled to face for hours with their arms on their heads as punishment.
Regardless of overwhelming proof, Lantz’s legal professional, John J. Balenovich, claimed his shopper “maintains his innocence.” Nonetheless, the brutality and racial concentrating on of their crimes have drawn widespread condemnation, with prosecutors and human rights advocates describing the case as one of the egregious examples of modern-day slavery.
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