Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which may be distressing for some readers.
A children’s book author and her spouse have been revealed to be living a ‘double life’ and now face severe criminal charges related to child abuse.
Jennifer Wolfthal, hailing from Florida, is known for her children’s books focused on friendship. She also portrayed herself as a caring mother and worked as a fourth-grade teacher.
Contrary to her public image, she has been exposed as an abusive individual and is now set to spend over a decade in prison.
Suspicion about the ‘A Real Friend’ author, aged 45, and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, 43, who was employed as an engineer at Lockheed Martin, arose after their eight-year-old adopted daughter was urgently taken to an Orlando hospital on New Year’s Day 2021. She was unconscious and covered in severe injuries.
According to Law&Crime, the child was suffering from kidney and liver failure, sepsis, a staph infection, open infected wounds on her legs, and pneumonia. Additionally, her leg sores were believed to be infected and ruptured.
The girl had a chipped tooth, two black eyes, and weighed only 40 pounds.
Joseph claimed her serious injuries were due to falling and brushing her teeth ‘too hard,’ but law enforcement launched an investigation after concluding the injuries did not match the explanations given.
“Due to the height and weight of [the girl], it is not likely the swollen bruise on the back of her head and the laceration on her lip and broken tooth were caused by off-balance falls,” the police report stated, according to the New York Post.
The Wolfthals had also adopted two other children, aged nine and 11, who investigators found to be showing signs of ‘malnourishment, bruises, and lack of care’ when they examined the family residence.
In the home, officers discovered the children’s bedroom doorknobs had been installed backward, allowing them to be locked only from the outside.
Investigators found around 1,100 written paragraphs, including a chilling note saying, “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.”
The children reportedly informed authorities they were physically punished with a ‘whacker’ and forced to exercise or write lines while being given a diet comprised only of cereal and vegetable puree.
On January 13, the Wolfthals admitted guilt to charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect causing great bodily harm, as per plea agreements obtained by Fox News Digital.
Jennifer faces a 12-year prison sentence for child abuse, while her husband is set to serve 10 years.
A representative from the State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s 18th judicial circuit told Fox News Digital: “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.
“The State Attorney’s office made sure law enforcement and the children’s new guardian supported this sentence before it agreed to it.”
The three children have since been relocated to a safe environment with another family.
Meanwhile, Jennifer’s book remains available on Amazon, though customers have been leaving negative reviews and comments about her abuse.
Several individuals claim to have reached out to customer service to request the book’s removal from sale.
Her publishing house, Clavis Publishing, also condemned Wolfthal following her arrest, stating, “we will do what’s within our power to cease commercialization of her book”.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or wish to speak confidentially about a child’s welfare, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) is available 24/7, and takes calls from within the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico.