Five Black siblings who suffered years of abuse and neglect while living with their white adoptive parents in West Virginia have been awarded a $4.4 million settlement from the state’s Department of Human Services.
The settlement, approved by Kanawha County Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers, followed a lawsuit alleging that Child Protective Services failed to adequately respond to repeated warnings about the children’s welfare. The settlement represents the maximum compensation available to the five children under West Virginia’s liability limits.
The children, who were between five and 16 years old at the time they were rescued, had reportedly been subjected to forced labour and lived in what prosecutors described as “slave-like” conditions. Two of the children were found locked inside a shed on the family’s Sissonville property in October 2023. The structure reportedly had no running water or proper bathroom facilities.
The adoptive parents, Donald Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, were subsequently convicted of multiple offences and sentenced to a combined 375 years in prison. Investigators and prosecutors said the children were subjected to abuse and exploitation, with race cited as a factor in their treatment.
The children’s lawyer, Dante’ diTrapano, argued that authorities had received numerous complaints from neighbours but failed to take adequate action. He said the settlement would give the children an opportunity to rebuild their lives after losing much of their childhood to abuse.
The children have since been placed with new adoptive families. Their lawyer said several of them continue to require significant support because of the trauma they experienced, while the state says it has introduced changes aimed at strengthening its child-welfare system.
