Jennifer Wolfthal, author of the children's book A Real Friend, and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, an engineer, pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm. Jennifer and Joseph were sentenced to 12 and 10 years in prison, respectively, according to a plea agreement obtained by Fox News Digital.
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"This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend significant time in prison while it protects the already-traumatized victims from the stress of having to testify," a Florida State Attorney's Office spokesperson told the outlet. "The State Attorney's office made sure law enforcement and the children's new guardian supported this sentence before it agreed to it."
This case dates back to 2021. Then, one of the Wolfthal couple's adopted daughters, a then-8-year-old, was rushed to a local hospital. At the time, she was experiencing organ failure. Moreover, doctors found that she had multiple injuries in her body. A police report at the time said that it was not likely that her injuries were caused by accident. These include a bruise on the back of the girl's head, a broken tooth, and a hip laceration.
While the 8-year-old was hospitalized, authorities investigated the Wolfthal household. There, they found their other two adopted children, ages 9 and 11, with "symptoms of malnourishment, bruises and lack of care." Chillingly, police found backward doorknobs with the locks on the outside.
They also found more than 1,100 written paragraphs that read: "My body stays flat on the bed at all times. I was never given permission to move or say anything. Now I get to write about this along with everything else. I am a fool."
Physical Abuse
According to the Daily Mail, the girls were subjected to inhumane treatment, abuse, and neglect. The 11-year-old detailed how she was punished for not going to the bathroom at proper times. She would also be punished for other meaningless activities such as not exercising or eating.
"The [girl] said that there were days that she was fed twice and sometimes she didn't eat her first meal until '3 o'clock in the afternoon," a police affidavit reads.
Jennifer and Joseph Wolfthal would then pour cold water over their daughters every night as a punishment. They would also use an item referred to as a "whacker." It was described as "being oblong and covered with fabric and was used regularly to deliver corporal punishment," according to Law & Crime.
Clavis Publishing, Jennifer's publisher, issued a statement following her arrest.
"We were made aware of horrific news regarding one-time, Clavis' author Jennifer Wolfthal's arrest," the statement reads. They would then condemn "child abuse, abandonment and neglect, today and always." "We will do what's within our power to cease commercialization of her book further," the statement concludes.
Manu Amazon users have reviewed Wolfthal's book negatively following the news of her sentencing. "Disgusting behavior towards children. Amazon, please remove," one user reads, leaving a one star review. "I won't read anything written by a disgusting woman. She almost killed a small child in her care," another user wrote. Amazon lists Wolfthal's book as "currently unavailable."
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