Cult leaders convicted of forcing children to work 16-hour days without pay

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — 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. Prosecutors say the children were also subject to beatings and other abuse. The U.S. Department of Justice said Monday that 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. A federal judge labeled the group a cult in 2018. Prosecutors say defendants in the most recent case beat children and imposed severe dietary restrictions on them.