Six members of a Kansas-based cult are convicted of forcing children to work up to 16 hours a day while subjecting them to beatings and other abuse.

 

 The U.S. Department of Justice says the six were high-ranking members of an organization formerly known as the United Nation of Islam and the Value Creators.

 

Prosecutors said members of the group beat children and forced them – some as young as eight years old - to endure inhumane conditions while also imposing severe dietary restrictions on the youth. The children were also trafficked to work in businesses in other states.

 

The convictions carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. The defendants 39-year-old Yunus Rassoul, 62-year-old James Saton, 49-year-old Randolph Hadley, 43-year-old Daniel Jenkins, 60-year-old Dana Peach and 50-year-old Kaaba Majeed are set to be sentenced in February.