19-03-2025
White couple abused their Black adopted children, WV officials say. ‘You are a monster'
A white couple will serve decades in prison after being convicted of trafficking and abusing their five Black adopted children, West Virginia officials and news reports said.
A woman received a maximum sentence of up to 215 years in prison, and a man will serve up to 160 years in prison, Kanawha County Prosecuting Attorney Debra Rusnak said in a March 19 news release. Both of the adoptive parents are in their 60s.
McClatchy News is not naming the parents to protect the identity of the children involved.
'I want you to know that you are a monster,' the couple's eldest daughter told them in court, according to the Associated Press.
The two were convicted Jan. 29 on human trafficking, civil rights and child abuse charges, including forced labor and neglect, according to a news release.
McClatchy News reached out to the parents' attorney March 19 but did not receive an immediate response.
They were arrested in October 2023 when their two oldest adopted children were found trapped inside a locked barn without running water in Sissonville, WOWK reported.
Deputies had to use a crowbar to get the children out of the barn, the Associated Press reported.
According to the outlet, all five children, ranging in age from 5 to 16 years old at that time, were turned over to Child Protective Services.
Sissonville is about a 15-mile drive north from Charleston.
