Wealthy White Couple Accused Of Adopting Black Children They Kept In A Shed To Work As Slaves

A white West Virginia couple is accused of keeping their adopted Black children in a barn they kept for forced labor.

Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, pleaded not guilty to over a dozen charges, including human trafficking of a minor child, use of a minor child in forced labor and child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death, after two Black teenagers, ages 14 and 16, were found locked in a shed, according to 'MetroNews.'

The barn had no running water or lights. A small RV porta-potty was in the shed, but no mattresses were to sleep on. One of the teens told authorities they had been locked in the shed for 12 hours after they were last fed. The children wore dirty clothes and had body odor, according to the filing, and one child had "open sores" on his feet.

Lantz and Whitefeather told police the shed was considered a "clubhouse" by the kids and that they enjoyed living in it.

After a wellness check was requested in October by a neighbor who suspected child abuse, the Sissonville couple was arrested after the discovery of their five adopted children, ages 6, 9, 11, 14, and 16, were living in deplorable conditions.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers called the indictment one of the worst she's ever seen, consisting of "human trafficking, human rights violations, the use of forced labor." Akers believes the adopted children were forced to work on the couple's property because of their race, the 'New York Post' reports.

According to neighbors, the children were not allowed inside their residence.

Marcus Hughes, Whitefeather's brother, posted the two $200,000 bonds in February. They were released from South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia, but the pair were taken back into custody facing new charges, per the 'Lynnwood Times.' Their bonds were raised to $500,000 each.

Hughes, 60, defended his sister and Lantz, telling the 'Daily Mail' "they've been made out to be monsters, which isn't true."

He continued: "You're supposed to be innocent until you're found guilty."