A children's book author and her husband were jailed for abusing foster children (5 photos)
The author of the children's book "A Friend in Deed" and her husband, a Lockheed Martin engineer, pleaded guilty to abusing three of their adopted children. On January 13, Florida residents Jennifer and Joseph Wolfthal, 44, were sent to prison and sentenced to 12 and 10 years, respectively. 
"The plea agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend significant time in prison. At the same time, it protects the traumatized victims from the stress of testifying. The State Attorney’s Office made sure that law enforcement and the children’s new guardian supported the proposal,” a spokesman for the attorney’s office said. 
Police began investigating in 2021 when Joseph Wolfthal brought his 8-year-old foster daughter to the hospital. The girl was unconscious, her organs were failing, and she had wounds all over her body. Doctors diagnosed the patient with pneumonia, a staph infection, and liver failure.
“Given the girl’s height and weight, it is unlikely that the bruise on the back of her head, the laceration on her lip, and the broken tooth were caused by a fall,” the police report said. 
The couple had two other adopted children, aged 9 and 11. They were also taken away.
They told police they were locked in rooms and punished in a variety of ways, including being forced to write "I'm stupid" over and over again. The children suffered from malnutrition (they were fed bran and vegetable puree), beatings and neglect. There were locks on their doors. 
The author was arrested on New Year's Eve 2022. Her book has already been removed from sale.
The publishers wrote: "At Clavis, we believe that children are beautiful and deserve our respect and care. That's why we publish books to enrich their lives and help them understand themselves, how to interact with others, and how the world works. We were horrified to learn that one of our authors, Jennifer Wolfthal, has been arrested. We strongly condemn any form of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. We will do everything in our power to stop the further commercialization of her book." 
