A Florida children's author known for her stories about friendship has been indicted along with her husband on charges of abuse and neglect of their adopted children, authorities said.
According to the plea agreement obtained, Jennifer Wolfthal, author of the book "Real Friends," and her husband, Lockheed Martin engineer Joseph Wolfthal Wolfthal pleaded guilty on January 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. Reported by Fox News Digital.
According to the plea agreement, Jennifer Wolfthal will be sentenced to 12 years in prison and her husband will be sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend a significant amount of time in prison while the protections already in place are Victims of trauma are protected from the pressure of having to testify." Fox News Digital. "The State Attorney's Office ensured that law enforcement and the children's new guardians supported the sentence before agreeing."
Children's book author and husband charged with abusing their children
Joseph Wolfthal and Jennifer Wolfthal pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect resulting in serious bodily injury. (Seminole County Sheriff's Office)
The investigation into the couple was launched in 2021 when their 8-year-old adopted daughter was taken to hospital with organ failure, unconscious and injured throughout her body. The couple also adopted two other children - ages 9 and 11.
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"Given (the girl's) height and weight, it is unlikely that the swelling and bruising on the back of her head, lacerations to her lip, and broken teeth were caused by a loss of balance and a fall," the police report reads.
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Investigators visited the girl's home while she was hospitalized and said they found two other children with "symptoms of malnutrition, bruising and lack of care."
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Police said the door handle to the child's bedroom was installed backwards and locked from the outside.
During a further search of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 written paragraphs that read: "My body was always flat on the bed. I was never allowed to move or say anything. Now I can put this and other Write things down together” “I’m a fool.
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Jennifer Wolfthal, author of a children's book called "Real Friends," will be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband faces 10 years in prison. (Amazon.com)
The book is still for sale on Amazon, but reviewers have been adding links to news articles about the allegations against the author in their comments.
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Authorities also said all three of the Wolfthals' adopted children suffered other horrific abuse. After the investigation, the children were moved to live with another family.
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Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.