A children’s book author, an engineer husband, is exposed to a double life in a traumatic home
A Florida children’s author — known for writing stories about friendship — has been accused of abusing and neglecting their adopted children with her husband, authorities said.
Jennifer Woltthal, author of “True Friend,” and her husband, Joseph Woltthal, a Lockheed Martin engineer, pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to aggravated battery to a child and aggravated battery to a child. by Fox News Digital.
Jennifer Wohlthal faces 12 years in prison and her husband 10 years in prison, according to the plea deal.
“This plea and sentencing agreement ensures Wolfthal will spend significant time in prison and spares already traumatized victims the stress of having to testify,” said a spokeswoman for the state attorney for Florida’s 18th Judicial District. Fox News Digital. “The State’s Attorney’s Office made sure to cooperate with law enforcement and the children’s new guardian before agreeing to this sentence.”
A children’s book author and her husband were accused of defaming their children
Joseph and Jennifer Woltthal pleaded guilty Jan. 13 to aggravated abuse and neglect of a severely disabled child. (Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
The investigation against the couple started in 2011. In 2021, after their then 8-year-old adopted daughter came to the hospital with organ failure, unconscious and covered in bruises. The couple 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, the swelling on the back of her head and the cut lip and broken tooth were likely caused by a fall,” the police report reads.
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While the girl was in the hospital, investigators visited the family’s home and said they found two other children with “malnourishment, bruises and signs of neglect.”
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Police said the doors to the children’s bedrooms had been pushed back and the locks were off.
During a further search of the home, authorities found more than 1,100 passages of text that read: “My body is always flat on the bed, never allowed to move or speak.” Now I can write about this along with everything else. I am a fool.
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Jennifer Woltthal, author of the children’s book “True Friend,” is to be sentenced to 12 years in prison. Her husband was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (Amazon.com)
The book is still for sale on Amazon, but reviewers have been filling comments with news articles about the allegations against the author.
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Authorities said all three of Wolfthal’s adopted children had other stories of horrific abuse. Following the investigation, the children were placed with another family.
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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
