A children’s book author and her husband have been arrested for child abuse after their children were found with severe injuries.
Jennifer Wolfthal, author of the children’s book “A Real Friend,” was arrested on New Year’s Day after her husband Joseph showed up at the hospital with one of the couple’s children. The 8-year-old girl was suffering from pneumonia, a staph infection, and liver failure. She was also malnourished and had multiple visible bruises and open wounds. The 8-year-old is still in the hospital, while the other two children, ages 9 and 11, are now in protective care. Court documents show that the couple adopted the children in 2014.
According to PEOPLE, Jennifer was allowed to bond out of jail but was arrested a second time this week on three new charges of false imprisonment of a child under 13. The new charges came following interviews with the children, who told investigators that they were spanked to the point of bleeding, went months without bathing, were locked in their bedrooms, and doused in cold water. The other two children were also severely malnourished.
Joseph was also arrested this week on child neglect charges with great bodily harm, aggravated child abuse, and false imprisonment of a child under 13. He is being held on a $210,000 bond.
Jennifer’s publisher has since pulled her book.
