A Florida children’s author – known for writing stories about friendship – was charged along with her husband abuse and neglect their adopted children, authorities said.
Jennifer Wolfthal, the author of “A Real Friend,” and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, an engineer at Lockheed Martin, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child causing great bodily harm, according to plea agreements obtained. by Fox News Digital.
Jennifer Wolfthal will be sentenced to 12 years in prison, while her husband will be sentenced to 10 years behind bars, according to the plea agreement.
“This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend significant time in prison, while protecting already traumatized victims from the stress of having to testify,” a police spokesperson said. Public Prosecution Service in Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Public Prosecution Service ensured that law enforcement officials and the children’s new guardian supported this verdict before agreeing to it.”
CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR AND HUSBAND DAMAGED FOR ABUSE OF THEIR OWN CHILDREN
Joseph and Jennifer Wolfthal pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child causing serious bodily injury. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
The investigation into the couple was launched in 2021 after their then 8-year-old adoptive daughter was taken to hospital with organ failure, unconsciousness and injuries. covered in injuries. The couple also had two other adopted children: a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old.
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“Due to (the girl’s) height and weight, it is unlikely that the swollen bruise on the back of her head, the laceration of her lip and the broken tooth were caused by an off-balance fall,” the police report said.
READ JENNIFER WOLFTHAL’S Plea Agreement: APP USERS CLICK HERE
READ JOSEPH WOLFTHAL’S Plea Agreement: APP USERS CLICK HERE
While the girl was in the hospital, investigators visited the family house and said they found two other children with “symptoms of malnutrition, bruising and lack of care.”
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Police said the doorknobs in the children’s rooms were installed backwards, with the locks on the outside.
During additional searches of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 written paragraphs that read: “My body remains flat on the bed all the time. I was never allowed to move or say anything. Now I get to write about this, along with everything else. . I’m a fool.”
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Jennifer Wolfthal, the author of a children’s book titled “A Real Friend,” is sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband faces a prison sentence of ten years. (Amazon.com)
The book is still available for purchase on Amazon, but reviewers supplement the comments with links to news articles about the allegations against the author.
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Authorities also shared that all three of the Wolfthals’ adopted children were victims of other horrific stories of abuse. After investigation, the children were transferred to another family.
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Michael Ruiz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
