Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A Florida children’s author, known for writing stories about friendship, was charged along with her husband with abuse and neglect their adopted children, authorities said.
Jennifer Wolfthal, author of “A Real Friend,” and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, a Lockheed Martin engineer, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm, according to plea agreements. guilt 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 considerable time in prison while protecting already traumatized victims from the stress of having to testify,” a spokesperson for the department said. State Prosecutor’s Office in Florida’s 18th Judicial Circuit, he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The State’s Attorney’s office made sure that authorities and the children’s new guardian supported this sentence before accepting it.”
CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR AND HUSBAND ACCUSED OF ABUSING THEIR OWN CHILDREN
Joseph and Jennifer Wolfthal pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm on January 13. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
The investigation into the couple began in 2021 after their adopted daughter, then 8 years old, was taken to the hospital with organ failure, unconscious and covered in wounds. The couple also had two other adopted children: one aged 9 and 11.
SIGN UP FOR THE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
“Due to (the girl’s) height and weight, it is not likely that the swollen bruise on the back of her head and the laceration to her lip and broken tooth were caused by unbalanced falls,” it reads. in the police report.
READ JENNIFER WOLFTHAL’S REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT: APP USERS CLICK HERE
READ THE JOSEPH WOLFTHAL STATEMENT AGREEMENT: APP USERS CLICK HERE
While the girl was in the hospital, researchers visited the family house and said they found two other children with “symptoms of malnutrition, bruises and lack of attention.”
Police said the doorknobs in the children’s rooms were installed backwards, with the locks facing outward.
During additional searches of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 written paragraphs that read: “My body remains flat on the bed at all times. I was never given permission to move or say anything. Now I can write about this along with everything else.” “. “I’m a fool.”
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Jennifer Wolfthal, author of the children’s book titled “A True Friend,” will be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband faces a 10-year sentence. (Amazon.com)
The book is still for sale on Amazon, but reviewers have filled the comments with links to news articles about the allegations against the author.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FOX NEWS APP
Authorities also shared that the Wolfthals’ three adopted children were the subject of other horrific stories of abuse. After the investigation, the children were moved to live with another family.
GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CENTER OF CRIME
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
