Photo: West Virginia Regional Jail/Correctional Facility Authority
The West Virginia couple accused of using their Black adopted children as "slaves," locking them in a barn, and forcing them to perform farm labor has been sentenced to decades in prison.
According to the New York Times, 62-year-old Donald Lantz was sentenced to 160 years in prison after being found guilty of forced labor, human trafficking, and child abuse and neglect. Lantz's wife, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 63, was sentenced to 215 years on the same charges in addition to violating her children's civil rights.
“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. “This court will now put you in yours. And may God have mercy on your souls, because this court will not.”
The couple was initially arrested in 2023 following a wellness check during which authorities found two of their five adopted children, who are Black, locked in a shed on their Sissonville property.
Authorities said the shed only had a small porta-potty and no running water. A 16-year-old child told authorities that she had been locked in the building for roughly 12 hours and was last given food at around 6 a.m.
A 14-year-old boy was found with "open sores on his bare feet." Both children were dirty and smelled of body order, according to authorities. The teenagers also stated that they were forced to sleep on the concrete floor without a mattress or padding.
“Neighbors also reported that the children were forced to perform farm labor and were not permitted inside the residence,” court documents state.
The couple was also accused of specifically targeting Black children and forcing them to work because of their race.
In a statement, Lantz's attorney said his client “maintains his innocence of all charges.”
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