CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Prosecutors in Kanawha County say they now have more of a guideline moving forward with charging people on crimes relating to human trafficking, child abuse and neglect.

Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak and Kanawha County Sherriff Joe Crawford came on 580 Live Thursday after the Sissonville couple, Jeanne Kay Whitefeather and Donald Ray Lantz were found guilty on 31 of 35 combined charges Wednesday night following an over two-week trial.

Joe Crawford (left)

The charges consist of human trafficking, forced labor, gross child neglect, child abuse and civil rights violations. They relate to crimes the couple committed against four of their five adopted black children.

Crawford said this case dealt with convictions they just don’t see everyday in West Virginia.

“I think we’re in uncharted territory, because these charges are not common charges brought in the state system, you see some of these charges brought federally, but I think this may be one of the first instances of this here, because the statutes are fairly new, I don’t know when they were passed but I know they are fairly new statutes,” said Crawford.

Rusnak said particularly in a case this complex, getting the charges exactly right is crucial.

The couple was arrested on October 2, 2023 after two of their five adopted children were found locked in a shed on their Sissonville property.

Rusnak said the investigation to come afterwards opened up a shocking stream of discovery into what the children had to endure.

She said after sitting down with an investigator early into the case to look through all of the possible charges, they were disappointed to find West Virginia doesn’t have any statute that addresses torture, which is what the children had endured Rusnak said.

Debra Rusnak

Rusnak said while they were able to take all of the facts and evidence presented in the case and find crimes that fit them, it was no easy task, and it would have been easier if there were more specific statutes to fit those specific crimes.

“Ultimately, yes, we got a conviction and we got convictions on charges that fit, but I think it could have been so much more had we had some sort of legislation for something like torture,” she said.

Rusnak said a potential torture statute should be brought to the attention of the legislature as they work to move forward, but this high-profile case served as a learning tool to bring that need to light.

She said this was one of the most brutal cases she’s ever seen and it means a lot to see it come to fruition and know that justice has been served.

“When you have any child that is a victim in a case, it’s going to be heart-wrenching, it’s going to be hard, but when you have children who were victimized to such a degree, it really takes a place in your heart and mind that really drives you to want to get justice for those children,” said Rusnak.

Crawford added that this case was even one of the most brutal he has seen throughout his nearly 40 years in law enforcement.

He said he’s grateful to serve in a community where the people step up and say something when they see that something’s not right, as well as for a strong law enforcement team who will follow through with that and thoroughly investigate the situation.

“When you put your resources together and you come together and get this kind of result, I think it says a lot about the men and women that we have working for us and the neighborhood and the community coming together to say something,” Crawford said.

Rusnak said while it took everyone stepping up and working together to get the case resolved, the testimonies of three of the victim children were the most vital part, because it brought to light exactly what happened from first-hand accounts.

“Albeit Madison Tuck and Chris Krivonyak put on a case that was unmatched, they did a brilliant job at presenting the evidence, but had they not had the testimony of those children to substantiate the allegations, to really explain what happened and what they had survived, I don’t know if we would have gotten the outcome that we did,” Rusnak said.

Prosecuting attorneys Madison Tuck and Chris Krivonyak served as lead representatives of the state in that 11-day trial.

Whitefeather now faces a max of 215 years in prison and Lantz faces a max of 140 years in prison.

Rusnak said the children are all safe now and being well cared for.