A cult from Kansas that put kids in cramped, rodent-infested buildings and made them labor for up to 16 hours a day for no pay while beating and abusing them has had six of its members found guilty.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the verdict on Monday and stated that the defendants were either wives of the late founder, Royall Jenkins, or high-ranking members of the group formerly known as the Value Creators and the United Nation of Islam.
Following a 26-day trial, the jury found all six defendants guilty of plotting to use forced labor. Kaaba Majeed, 50, one of the six, was also found guilty on five charges of forced labor.
“Under the guise of false pretenses and coercion, these victims, some of whom were as young as eight years old, endured inhumane and abhorrent conditions,” FBI Special Agent Stephen Cyrus stated.
Prosecutors claimed that the organization, which a federal judge had classified as a cult in 2018, severely restricted children’s diets and abused them.
Prosecutors claimed that one of the victims was forced to be held upside down over train tracks because he would not confess to taking food when he was starving. Another victim was so thirsty that she ended up drinking water from a toilet.
Prior to founding the independent United Nation of Islam in 1978, Jenkins—who passed away in 2021—was a member of the Nation of Islam.
According to the indictment, he convinced his supporters that he had been “taken through the galaxy by aliens on a spaceship,” and that he had been shown the right method to govern the planet. The group had hundreds of members at one point.
Prosecutors claimed that starting in October 2000, the gang employed group members and their kids to work unpaid labor at gas stations, bakeries, and restaurants throughout many states.
The University of Arts and Logistics of Civilization, an illegal school in Kansas City, Kansas, was urged by parents to enroll their children there even though it offered inadequate education in the majority of disciplines.
Rather, the indictment claims that some of the minor victims were trafficked to work in enterprises in other states, such as New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia, and North Carolina, while others worked in Kansas City.
According to the prosecution, the kids resided in cramped apartments that were frequently infested with rats, mice, and mold. Strict guidelines governed what they were allowed to read, how they had to dress, and what they could eat. Colics were imposed upon a few. According to the prosecution, punishments included being imprisoned in a scary, dark basement.
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They were warned that if they fled, they would burn in “eternal hellfire.”
Judge Daniel Crabtree of the United States labeled the group a cult in May 2018 and ordered them to pay $8 million to a lady who claimed to have worked for free for ten years.
In the child labor case, sentencing hearings are scheduled for February. Majeed faces a maximum term of 20 years in jail based on the convictions, while the other defendants, Yunus Rassoul, 39; James Staton, 62; Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49; Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43; and Dana Peach, 60, face punishments of up to five years in prison.
Attorneys for all six suspects received emails on Tuesday requesting comments. Prior to this, two other co-defendants entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiring to use forced labor.
