Jennifer and Joseph Wolfthal.Photo: Seminole County
A Florida-based children’s book author and her husband are heading to prison after pleading guilty to abusing their adopted children.
The couple’s trial was supposed to start on Mon. Jan. 13, but they reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the charges, local station WESH reports.
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.
Had the case gone to trial, the two faced more than 100 years in prison if convicted, the judge said in court, WESH reports.
The child was also malnourished, had multiple bruises, a skin infection and several open wounds, authorities said.
After Jennifer was released from custody on bond, she was arrested in late January on new charges of false imprisonment of a child under 13, PEOPLE confirmed.
The new charges came after investigators interviewed the couple’s children, who alleged that they were spanked to the point of bleeding, doused in cold water, and locked in their bedrooms, according to theOrlando Sentinel.
The children often went for months without bathing, and were seriously malnourished, the arrest report alleged.
One child allegedly told investigators that her parents “would take turns disciplining them,” and would “spank her in the same spot to the point of drawing blood.”
Attorneys for the two did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
