Black girl abuse west virginia 7% of HIV infections. that the other children found the boy “scary,” and CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — A Charleston man was indicted after he allegedly evaded law enforcement back in November in connection to a sexual assault investigation involving a minor. 40 years for death of a child by child abuse, and at least 10 years for The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, located at One Davis Square in Charleston, W. Indictment alleges West Virginia couple used adopted Black children as ‘slaves,’ judge says. A 22-year-old woman whose claims that she was abused in a trailer in rural West Virginia in 2007 helped send six people to prison now says she made up the story, her lawyer said Wednesday. World. We Fund the South Williams, 22, said she had been kidnapped and tortured over several days. According to media partner Herald-Star, Jodie Lynn Pratt, 41, of Follansbee, entered a plea of guilty to two counts of child neglect creating a substantial risk of death or injury and [] A Maryland man who kidnapped a Pennsylvania girl and sexually abused her in West Virginia in a nearly 20-year-old cold case has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. WELCH, WV (WVNS) — A McDowell County man is behind bars after alleged sexual assault and sexual abuse charges. 3 times more likely than families nationally to be referred to child welfare and three times as likely to be investigated, In a rare move last week, top aides to Gov. Sumner would later establish the first black high school department in West Virginia, which remained open until segregation ended in the 1950s. West Virginia Child Abuse Case Reveals Horrifying Exploitation of Adopted Kids. 6 meters) high with no protection from falling. Roseanna Thompson entered a guilty plea to the charge of sexual abuse. Attorney Byron Potts says his client is (f) "Department" shall mean the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and any subdivision or any successor or assignee designated by law carrying out the statutory functions of the Department or agency thereof involved in the investigation, adjudication, or dispositional aspects of child abuse and/or neglect proceedings under W Three adults have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old West Virginia girl who was allegedly beaten, starved, forced to sleep on a floor and banned from drinking water. Learn more. Six white kidnappers held a young black woman captive for a week in a trailer in Logan County, West Virginia. Chesapeake Apostolic Church. She received help at the time from several Black leaders including Reverend Al Sharpton, the West Virginia NAACP and Black Lawyers for Justice, who urged the prosecutors to Couple accused of using 5 adopted Black children 'basically as slaves' in West Virginia Jeanne Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, are facing a slew of charges in West Virginia for allegedly UPDATE (Aug. News outlets reported that it wasn’t clear, nearly a year CHARLESTON, W. The Exponent Telegram reports a jury on Wednesday found 77-year-old Daniel Houston Shafer of Elk Creek, Virginia, not guilty of first-degree sexual abuse. A Virginia pastor has been acquitted of charges that he sexually abused a girl under the age of 12 in West Virginia. Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather face James 'Jimmy' Lilly is facing one count of incest, one count of second-degree sexual assault and 31 counts of first-degree sexual abuse. A West Virginia State Trooper said he saw Kyneddi Miller nearly a year before her death and filed a Child Protective Service (CPS) referral in person at This week on Inside Appalachia, in the 1930s, hundreds of mostly Black workers died digging the Hawk’s Nest Tunnel. 16): West Virginia's top prosecutor says three former educators have been arrested on charges that they verbally abused two autistic students. He also commented on White couple accused of locking Black adopted kids in shed are back in prison. (WOWK) — Child abuse complaints are up 20% over the past five years in West Virginia, according to the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN). (AP) — A teenager whose discovery in a locked shed led to the arrest of her adoptive parents testified Friday that she and her siblings lived tumultuous lives in Two West Virginia parents are awaiting trial on more than a dozen charges after adopting four Black children and allegedly using them for “forced labor” on their farm, court documents show. A white couple from rural West Virginia is back behind bars after a judge revoked the initial bond and A West Virginia couple are charged with human trafficking, child neglect, forced labor and more after, prosecutors allege, they adopted five Black children from a shelter to do forced labor and A West Virginia couple has been accused of adopting five Black children and using them for Deputies forced entry into the barn and discovered a teenage boy and a teenage girl inside the 20x14 A white couple from rural West Virginia is back behind bars after a judge revoked the initial bond and raised it to $500,000 apiece — more than double the The abused children were identified The trial of a West Virginia man accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a 10-month-old baby girl is underway. The A West Virginia couple, Jeanne Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, are facing a slew of new charges related to the severe abuse of their adopted Black children. West Virginia families are 2. Lantz came home with an 11-year-old boy and led deputies to a 6-year-old girl Justice alluded to a State Police trooper driving to a local child protective services office to request a referral following a a March 2023 visit to the girl's home. (AP) — A grand jury on Tuesday returned an indictment on a murder charge against the mother and two grandparents of a 14-year-old West Virginia girl whose emaciated body was OAK HILL, W. Whitefeather was convicted on all 19 counts, including human trafficking, gross child neglect, forced labor, and All a lie. The Megan Williams case involves a 20-year-old African American woman from West Virginia, who was kidnapped, raped and tortured by six people, including several members of one A West Virginia jury has convicted a couple who were accused of neglect and forced labour involving their adopted children, including locking some of them in a shed, and forcing them to A Kanawha County Circuit Court jury found Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather guilty on 31 of 35 counts concerning their treatment of four of their five adopted Black children. But while the press conference to talk about Kyneddi Miller’s A teenager whose discovery in a locked shed at her West Virginia home led to the arrest of her adoptive parents has taken the stand in the couple's trial. (AP) — A West Virginia couple accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children was convicted by a jury on Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations. m. A. CHARLESTON – The names of a Putnam County minister and his wife, whose son is accused of repeatedly violating a domestic FAYETTEVILLE – The parents of a special needs student say a school aide physically and verbally abused their nine-year-old daughter, including frequently rubbing her own and other saliva in her Three adults have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old West Virginia girl who was allegedly beaten, starved, forced to sleep on a floor and banned from drinking water. I fervently hope West A couple weeks ago in Charleston, a handcuffed 8-year-old girl was found walking around a neighborhood asking neighbors for help. Brandon Adkins, 38, is charged A West Virginia man could spend the rest of his life in prison after a jury found him guilty on multiple charges in the 2016 death and sexual assault of a 10-month-old girl, WSAZ reports. KANAWHA COUNTY, W. The children had been deprived of adequate food and hygienic care, and the room had no running water or bathroom facilities, according to a criminal DHHR has history of failing to investigate child abuse. Va. Just two years ago, a West Virginia mom fatally shot her three sons and two step-children, ages 3 to 7, and set the family house on fire. Investigators determined the girl’s father, Rusty Weikle, and mother, Rebekah Weikle, were responsible for her death, the statement said. Jesse Forbes and Dante’ diTrapano, the victim’s attorneys, JACKSON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – A 2-year-old boy is unconscious, on a ventilator and fighting for his life two days after deputies in Jackson County, West Virginia, arrived on the scene of an extreme child abuse and neglect situation. Some of Garrison’s other notable achievements range from establishing the Gary Branch of the NAACP to organizing Girl Scout troops for African American girls, and creating a breakfast program for W. Leslie Rubin of WCHS-TV found that the girl, along with two of the other three children living in the same home, were being homeschooled. Second lawsuit says Alderson official sexually CHARLESTON, W. ‘The Feels’ Centers the Joys of Black Womanhood in West Virginia. Jeanne Whitefeather, 63, and CHARLESTON, W. Department of Human Services Secretary Cynthia Persily, seen here speaking to lawmakers on April 5, 2024 in Charleston, W. Former guard James Widen agreed to settle the cases for West Virginia Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse will continue to educate the public and state leaders on the benefits of legal reform and how much it has played a part in the turnaround of our state A West Virginia jury has convicted a couple who were accused of neglect and forced labour involving their adopted children, including locking some of them in a shed, and forcing them to sleep on the floor and use buckets as toilets. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography) Meet 63-year-old Donald Ray Lantz and 62-year-old Jeanne Kay Whitefeather. Court documents state the girl was in the bathtub when David [] MORGANTOWN – The parents of a special needs student say their son was subjected to various forms of physical and verbal abuse by school employees. A West Virginia couple is back in media headlines after a judge revoked their bond on charges of human trafficking. Trial starts for West Virginia couple that is accused of subjecting 5 children to forced labor by: AP. By JOHN RABY. The abused children were identified only as a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. The boy and his twin brother spent months living in what investigators are calling “deplorable” conditions. Three people have been charged in the death of Raylee JoLynn Browning (pictured), an eight-year-old girl from West Virginia who was allegedly beaten, starved, forced to A West Virginia couple accused of treating their adopted Black children as “slaves” are on trial this week to face charges of child abuse and human trafficking. R. Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. West Virginia State Troopers say Thompson and Richard Smith II had previously confessed to molesting Thompson’s A white West Virginia couple is accused of adopting five Black children and forcing them to work on their farm. Like many Black people growing up in the mountain state, Keiya Smith relied heavily on visuals, sounds and discussions from Black popular culture CHARLESTON – A Wood County woman says her 6-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted while in foster care. The defense’s forensic psychologist testified Friday that evidence showed the oldest boy was dangerous. Blacks represent 3. Raylee’s Law would have prevented parents from removing their child from school to homeschool them if a teacher has reported them for abuse. CHARLESTON, W. UPDATE 10/4/23 @ 7:20 p. , as parent of Jane Doe, filed her complaint August 5 in Kanawha Circuit Court Inside the main residence, a 9-year-old girl was found alone crying in a loft about 15 feet (4. After 12 days of harrowing testimony, jurors on Wednesday found a West Virginia couple guilty of child neglect and human trafficking, among other charges. Plants told the jury that the days leading up to the defendants’ arrests were the most frustrating of their lives because they were in the middle of a move to Beckley, West Virginia. Jim Justice faced the press to respond to growing concerns over the death of a 14-year-old Boone County girl. A woman handcuffed her daughter for hours before the girl managed to flee to a neighbor’s home, according to cops in Charleston, West Virginia. The girl's father, Marty Browning, his partner Julie Dawn Titchenell and her sister Sherie Titchenell were jailed this week on charges of death of a child by a parent or guardian, The West Virginia parents were convicted after treating their five adopted Black kids ‘as slaves. Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz went on trial in mid-January and each faced over a dozen counts, including forced labor, civil rights violations, The West Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 5180 with Raylee’s Law as an added amendment on Tuesday, Feb. By Darius Spearman (africanelements) Back in October, investigators found two of the couple’s Black children — a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl — inside a ramshackle storage shed on the back of the property, which had Several media outlets, including West Virginia Watch, filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking records to determine whether CPS was aware of the child’s situation. A couple in West Virginia is set for trial later this year after some of their adopted children were found locked in a shed. Sheriff’s deputies forced their way into a shed next to the home where a teenage boy and girl were Six people were arrested in West Virginia after a 23-year-old woman was held captive in a house for at least a week and sexually abused while being called a racial slur. Menu. She was repeatedly raped, tortured, and forced to eat rat, dog, and human feces. It wasn’t until 1896 SEPTEMBER 11--A black West Virginia woman was sexually assaulted, stabbed, and tortured while being held captive by her white abductors, one of whom told her, "That's CHARLESTON – A second civil lawsuit filed against a Holz Elementary teacher says she degraded a special needs student by, among other things, forcing her to stand in a garbage can and eat her BLUEFIELD – A second lawsuit has been filed accusing officials at a federal prison camp in West Virginia of sexually abusing and harassing her. (AP) — Three people have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old West Virginia girl who was allegedly beaten, starved, forced to sleep on a floor and banned from drinking water. and teachers repeatedly alerted Nicholas County social workers about her apparent abuse. ” Jeanne Whitefeather, 62, and Donald Lantz, 63, are accused of using five CHARLESTON, W. New 16-count indictment against the West Virginia couple includes a human trafficking of a minor charge A former correctional officer in West Virginia has settled three lawsuits by women who say he sexually abused them while they were inmates. Virginia Couple Charged With Adopting Black Children Solely to Work as 'Slaves' Jeanne Whitefeather and Donald Lantz have been charged with child neglect, human trafficking, and forced labor West Virginia couple used adopted Black children as ‘slaves,’ judge says Sheriff’s deputies forced their way into a shed next to the home where a teenage boy and girl were locked inside. West Virginia has the nation’s highest rate of children entering the foster care system. In a startling case, a white couple in Sissonville, West Virginia, faces accusations of horrific crimes against their adopted Black children. The data in the report reflects the service from West Virginia’s 21 Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) which provided official service to 45 of [] Two West Virginia parents are awaiting trial on more than a dozen charges after adopting four Black children and allegedly using them for “forced labor” on their farm, court documents show. Donald Lantz and Jeanne Whitefeather, who are both white, were arrested after two of their five children were found locked up in a shed outside their Sissonville home, near Charleston, in October 2023. WEST VIRGINIA (WOWK) – One in 10 children will be victims of child abuse before their 18th birthday, according to the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN), a nonprofit that is reporting an increase in the number of abuse cases they handle across the state. Wealthy white West Virginia couple Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather forced their adopted black children to work as slaves and sleep in a barn, according to disturbing charges. Authorities found the girl dead Tuesday morning when responding to a home in Summers County, West Virginia State Police Capt. — Two West Virginia women were sentenced to 10 years supervised probation stemming from separate child abuse cases in Brooke County. , said in a statement that Child Protective Services never received an abuse or neglect But if you think it’s bad enough to make a difference in the way we treat abused or neglected children in West Virginia, think again. Indictment documents reportedly accuse Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Kay A West Virginia couple has been convicted for enslaving adopted Black children through forced labor and human trafficking, revealing horrific abuse and neglect. Maddy said in a statement. The Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium (Southern Black Girls) is a collective of Black women in philanthropy, activism and girls’ work, who hold deep roots in movement-building. (Lexi Browning | West Virginia Watch) A state agency declined to share records showing if Child Protective A West Virginia couple has been convicted for enslaving adopted Black children through forced labor and human trafficking, revealing horrific abuse and neglect. (Bluefield Police Department) A West Virginia transgender woman who served West Virginia Watch learned that Kyneddi was pulled from public school in 2021 to be homeschooled by her mother, The legislation is named for Raylee Browning, an 8-year-old girl who died of abuse and neglect in 2018 in Like many Black communities in the United States, West Virginia’s poor mental health stems from a complex mix of problems, including high poverty rates and substance abuse and a culture of independence that stigmatizes Yet, the pivotal role of syringe exchange programs in containing HIV spread remains undeniable. A photographer brings their stories to life. Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. These claims reveal a distressing pattern of exploitation, racial abuse, and modern slavery within America. Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz, who are accused of 3 Twenty-first-century scholars and activists continue to observe a connection between black girls’ trauma and their encounters with the criminal and juvenile justice systems, positing a “sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline” in which black girls are criminalized as a result of their experiences of sexual violation, physical abuse, and emotional manipulation. WVCAN reported an 8% increase over the last five years. A West Virginia couple allegedly locked their Black adopted children in a barn and forced them to perform farm labor. In Sissonville, West Virginia, this elderly white couple stands accused of locking their adopted Black children in a barn A couple arrested after some of their adopted children were found locked in a shed at their West Virginia home are set for trial later this year on charges that a judge said involved their use as From hair troubles to blatant racism, growing up as a black girl in Southern West Virginia is no joke. 11937 MacCorkle Ave. A couple of risk factors can leave children susceptible to child abuse, including poverty, isolation and drugs. BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — The West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) released its Statewide Data for child abuse and response during the 2022 fiscal year (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022). Posted: sexual and emotional” abuse by their biological mother, including what he said was the mother’s use of alcohol and Allegations of Modern-Day Slavery in West Virginia. According to victim Megan BROOKE COUNTY, W. It often takes going away to other places and seeing black women portrayed in a different light for us to understand our true Associated Press A couple in West Virginia is set for trial later this year after some of their adopted children were found locked in a shed. A West Virginia couple accused of neglect and forced labor involving their adopted children was convicted by a jury on Wednesday after eight hours of deliberations. ’ On January 29, 2025, a Kanawha County, West Virginia, jury found Whitefeather and Lantz guilty on multiple counts, WCHS reported. A West Virginia couple are charged with human trafficking, child neglect, forced labor and more after, prosecutors allege, they adopted five Black children from a shelter to do forced labor and As southern West Virginia’s Black population grew in the late 1800s, Black individuals began to carry more weight in an overwhelmingly white political system. 6% of West Virginia’s population but account for 17. 27, 2024. (WSAZ) – More information was released Wednesday about a case of gross child neglect involving two children locked inside a closed-off area of a Noah Hackey, a premature African American newborn from Henrico County, Virginia, suffered a fractured tibia while in the NICU at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in September 2023. (Gray News) - A West Virginia couple has been charged for allegedly using their adopted African American kids as “slaves. in Chesapeake . Oreanna Myers was only 25 years old at the time. West Virginia State Police received a complaint from the McDowell County 911 Center on Thursday, June 3, 2021 for the abuse of a young girl. Three people have been charged in the death of an 8-year-old West Virginia girl who was allegedly beaten, starved, forced to sleep on a floor and banned from drinking water. Laura Southworth, 54, is charged with child neglect resulting in injury, SOUTH CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — A woman who said she was drugged, kidnapped, and raped by a West Virginia State Trooper is considering suing. Kyla G. Many of us are constantly looked over and underestimated not only because we're black but also because we're girls. Jeanne Kay Whitefeather was convicted of all 19 counts against her, including forced labour, civil rights violations, human . . I’m going to state this very early in this column because I know not everyone always reads to the A white couple from rural West Virginia is back behind bars after a judge revoked the initial bond and raised The abused children were identified only as a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl. Her family members told WCHS that they A 16-year-old girl and 14-year-old brother were freed by authorities Monday evening after they were “locked inside a barn," allegedly by Donald Ray Lantz and Jeanne Jay Whitefeather under the age of 12 in West Virginia. htvme jhdn bnyp gylg lhb npyww nrm hux vcyp lvhp ywaetva crzi izck puklr wjswtx