Kansas
Kansas cult leaders convicted of forcing children to work 16-hour days without pay
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Six members of a Kansas-based cult have been convicted in a scheme to house children in overcrowded, rodent-infested facilities and force them to work up to 16 hours a day without pay while subjecting them to beatings and other abuse.
The defendants were either high-ranking members of the organization formerly known as the United Nation of Islam and the Value Creators, or were wives of the late founder, Royall Jenkins, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday in announcing the verdict.
After a 26-day trial, jurors convicted all six defendants of conspiracy to commit forced labor. One of the six, Kaaba Majeed, 50, also was convicted of five counts 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 said in a written statement.
Prosecutors said the group, which was labeled a cult by a federal judge in 2018, beat children and imposed severe dietary restrictions. One of the victims was held upside down over train tracks because he would not admit to stealing food when he was hungry, prosecutors said. Another victim resorted to drinking water from a toilet because she was so thirsty.
Jenkins, who died in 2021, had been a member of the Nation of Islam until 1978, when he founded the separate United Nation of Islam. He persuaded his followers that he was shown the proper way to rule the Earth after being “taken through the galaxy by aliens on a spaceship,” according to the indictment. At one point, the group had hundreds of followers.
Prosecutors said that beginning in October 2000, the organization ran businesses such as gas stations, bakeries and restaurants in several states using unpaid labor from group members and their children.
Parents were encouraged to send their children to an unlicensed school in Kansas City, Kansas, called the University of Arts and Logistics of Civilization, which did not provide appropriate instruction in most subjects.
Instead, some of the child victims worked in businesses in Kansas City, while others were trafficked to businesses in other states, including New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia and North Carolina, the indictment alleges.
Prosecutors said the children lived in overcrowded facilities often overrun with mold, mice and rats. There were strict rules about what they could read, how they dressed and what they ate. Some were forced to undergo colonics. Punishments included being locked in a dark, frightening basement, prosecutors said.
They were told they would burn in “eternal hellfire” if they left.
In May 2018, U.S. Judge Daniel Crabtree called the group a cult and ordered it to pay $8 million to a woman who said she spent 10 years performing unpaid labor.
Sentencing hearings are set for February in the child labor case. The convictions carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison for Majeed and up to five years for the other defendants: Yunus Rassoul, 39; James Staton, 62; Randolph Rodney Hadley, 49; Daniel Aubrey Jenkins, 43; and Dana Peach, 60.
Emails seeking comment were sent Tuesday to attorneys for all six defendants.
Two other co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit forced labor.
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Department of Agriculture held a meeting on Thursday to discuss proposed rules regarding the Kansas Water Appropriation Act.
The Division of Water Resources is proposing new regulations and changes to current regulations under the law.
The division is looking at amending or revoking regulations related to flowmeters tracking water usage.
It is also proposing changes to groundwater usage rules on how far you can move a well from its original location to prevent harming the water rights of other landowners.
Another regulation would create voluntary Water Conservation Areas, where landowners work with the division to establish water conservation plans on their properties.
Some of the concerns raised at Thursday’s meeting dealt with property rights and the transfer of land to new owners. Some expressed concern about the sale of water rights to other landowners in the area.
There is no listed timeline for when the changes could be made.
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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A rural Kansas fire department says it saw yet another increase in calls in 2025.
On Tuesday, Butler County Fire District #3 posted data about last year on social media.
It responded to 782 alarms in 2025, which is a new record.
The majority of the calls were for rescue and emergency medical services, followed by service calls.
The department’s data show the number of calls has been trending upward over the last 20 years.
From 2006 to 2010, the department handled an an average of 550 calls a year. From 2021 through 2025, that average was 720, a 31% increase.
Officials said continued growth in the community has increased the demand for emergency services.
“These numbers reinforce the importance of ongoing training, staffing, equipment planning, and community support to ensure we can continue to provide timely and effective service,” the department said on Facebook.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clay County Commissioner Jason Withington said Wednesday that he still loves baseball, but is “done” negotiating with the Royals on a new stadium for the team in the county.
According to Withington, Thursday, Jan. 8, was the deadline for the Royals to appear on the April 2026 ballot in the county.
Withington said the Royals told the county that they were not ready to meet that deadline.
Withington took to Facebook to explain that “the joy has been drained” out of him over the last few years and expressed his dislike towards the business of baseball.
He called negotiations with the team “a closed chapter” and said that the county is shifting its focus elsewhere.
“It’s time for the Commission to focus fully on priorities we control—either upgrading our existing county jail or building a new one,” Withington wrote.
The Royals’ lease at Kauffman Stadium in the Truman Sports Complex in Jackson County expires in January 2031.
KSHB 41’s political reporter Charlie Keegan reported in May 2025 on efforts by Missouri to keep both the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri.
While the Chiefs announced that they will move to a new stadium site in 2031 in Wyandotte County, the Royals have not announced their next steps to get a new ballpark built.
A stadium site near 119th Street and Nall Avenue in Overland Park has emerged as a possibility for a stadium site for the ball club.
Some residents in that area are not happy about that possibility.
KSHB 41 News reached out to the Royals for comment, but has not heard back.
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