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A Sissonville couple accused of locking children in a barn and forcing them to work are back in custody with their bond now set at $500,000 each, more than double their previous bond.
Donald Ray Lantz, 63, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 62, appeared in Kanawha County court on Tuesday, pleading not guilty to over a dozen new charges, including human trafficking of a minor, use of a minor in forced labor, and child neglect creating substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death.
Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers deemed their previous $200,000 bond insufficient, citing the severity of the charges.
“Along with human trafficking and neglect posing serious risk of bodily injuries or death, I don’t find the bond to be sufficient,” Akers said.
The couple was initially arrested last October after a wellness check revealed two of their five adopted children living in deplorable conditions locked in a shed on their Sissonville property.
The indictment also alleges human rights violations, claiming the adopted children, who are black, were specifically targeted and forced to work because of their race.
Akers noted, “It alleges human trafficking, human rights violations, the use of forced labor. 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.”
This increase in bond follows concerns from Kanawha County prosecutors that the couple’s original cash bonds were obtained through trafficking profits, as they managed to post the $400,000 bond money for their release in February.
Kanawha County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Krivonyak described the posted bond money as “contraband directly or indirectly used or intended for use” to violate human trafficking laws.
