One of the adopted child of a West Virginia couple found guilty last month of abusing and human trafficking their adopted children has filed suit against the pair, alleging “shocking and severe physical and emotional abuse and neglect” while under their care.
The lawsuit was filed in Kahawha County on Thursday against Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather, WOWK reported.
Lantz and Whitefeather were initially arrested in October 2023 after local deputies were called to check on the welfare of their children, as CrimeOnline reported. The deputies found two teenagers locked in the shed and a third, younger child locked inside the main home in a loft 15 feet off the the ground.
Lantz and Whitefeather were not home when deputies arrived, but they were charged with child neglect when they returned.
In May 2024, the couple was indicted on multiple charges that included human trafficking of a minor child; civil rights violations based on color, race and/or ancestry; use of minor child in forced labor; child neglect creating a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death; and false swearing.
The couple went on trial in January, and after 11 days, Lantz was found guilty on 12 of 16 charges against him, while Whitefeather was convicted on all 19 charges against her, according to WOWK.
Lantz, but not Whitefeather, was acquitted on the civil rights charges against him.
The lawsuit says that Lantz and Whitefeather denied the child food and water for multiple days, hit the child on the head, and made them sleep in a tent or outbuilding, causing “severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries and damages.”
“We are going to turn over every stone in every state to make sure these innocent children have compensation for the horrific treatment visited upon them by their foster parents and the authorities in charge of their placement and care,” said Dante’ diTrapano, an attorney representing the child.
Sentencing for Lantz and Whitefeather is scheduled for next month.
