WHITE COUPLE ON TRIAL FOR 'ENSLAVING' BLACK KIDS

A multi-day trial began on 14 January for a white couple in the US state of West Virginia who face 16 charges on allegedly enslaving five Black children they had adopted.

Authorities accuse Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz of child neglect, trafficking of a minor and employing children in labour, among other charges.

The prosecution opened the case by presenting evidence of child abuse. Text messages allegedly exchanged between Lantz and Whitefeather showed the couple discussing how to force the children to stand for extended periods and confining the two teenagers in an outbuilding.

The couple reportedly denied proper food and hygiene to the children, who ranged in age between 5 and 16 at the time of the police raid in October 2023. They were indicted in June 2024 and remain under house arrest.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/teenager-describes-tumultuous-life-trial-adoptive-parents-accused-117817252 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/us/west-virginia-adopted-black-children-slaves-reaj/index.html 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trial-starts-west-virginia-couple-234905844.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIdqpV8njAhEkAvyRSNtiPPGqQU12rdcudoy3shA3scedAorrLCWM8pZ0ajFzKE0dXLtciba6SqlUH8PXZ7Y0sUZTmwDCrssqMAet-p5dxrbRhAapYr8ABkFTFbAWBS00Nh6KLF3ZYQ5zHBM98Mgl0n3Z61LvaXIr3PlUopB2qkn 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjtou3OM7Lk