A firefighter and his wife have been arrested in Florida for alleged acts of severe “mental and physical” abuse perpetrated against their adopted daughter, Luxury Handbag Shopping has learned.
Coral Springs Police claim that, for the last three years, Joel and Jennifer Kohnert have kept the 12-year-old girl locked in her bedroom, with extremely limited access to a bathroom. The door to her room locked from the outside.
Joel, 44, is a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lieutenant, authorities said.
Joel and Jennifer, 45, were arrested on Tuesday, March 31, on charges of child abuse without great bodily harm.
Detectives started investigating allegations against the couple in February. Police received a tip the girl was locked in her bedroom overnight, to prevent her from stealing.
She was allegedly denied access to the bathroom and was forced to urinate on the floor. In the mornings, the Kohnerts allegedly made the girl clean the mess with bleach and vinegar, while using her own clothing as a rag. She then had to clean her clothing in a bucket outside and dry it in her room, cops alleged.
The couple also allegedly made the homeschooled girl bathe herself outside in the backyard in a bathing suit “despite inadequate weather conditions,” the reports said.
The girl’s bed was a simple air mattress, and she had no toys of any kind. But she was given a sound machine that was set to a high volume, preventing her from hearing people in the home.
Jennifer also slapped and kicked the girl and routinely yanked her by the hair, she said.
The girl was removed from the home, as were several clothing items, which appeared to be stained yellow.
Both parents were in a Broward County Court on Wednesday, April 1, where local outlets like NBC 6 reported their attorney described them as “devout Christians” and “devoutly religious.”
“When you allegedly have got a 12-year-old child who is locked in a room for upwards of three years and is forced to urinate and defecate in the room and then clean it up with her clothes, that is not a religious issue, that is something else,” the judge replied.
If you suspect child abuse, please call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit ChildHelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential, and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
