A Florida firefighter and his wife are facing disturbing child abuse allegations after police said their adopted 12-year-old daughter was locked inside a bare bedroom for years and forced to live in conditions investigators described as “inhumane.”
Joel Kohnert, 44, and his wife, Jennifer Kohnert, have been charged with felony child abuse after authorities accused them of subjecting the girl to ongoing mental and physical abuse for roughly three years, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
The allegations are deeply disturbing.
The girl told investigators she was locked inside her bedroom so often that she was forced to urinate and defecate on herself because she was not allowed regular access to a bathroom, according to the affidavit. She allegedly said she was then made to clean the waste with her own clothing using vinegar and bleach, wash the clothing in a small bucket, dry it inside the room, and wear the same clothes again afterward.
Investigators with the Coral Springs Police Department later found that the girl’s bedroom door locked from the outside and that the window in her room did not open, the affidavit states.
Inside the room, authorities allegedly found little more than an air mattress on the floor, three outfits, and a large sound machine that drowned out noise from the rest of the home. The Kohnerts also have six biological children, four of whom are minors.
Police noted a stark difference between the adopted girl’s room and the bedrooms used by the couple’s biological children. According to the affidavit, the other children’s rooms were clean, properly furnished, and filled with toys and personal belongings. The 12-year-old’s room, investigators said, smelled of urine, and her clothing had stains that appeared consistent with what she described.
When the girl was allowed out of the room, she allegedly told police, it was often so she could bathe outside in the backyard — even during bad weather.
After speaking with the girl, authorities interviewed the couple’s other children, as well as Joel and Jennifer. According to the affidavit, the parents allegedly did not deny the accusations and instead corroborated parts of the girl’s account.
The Kohnerts adopted the child when she was just 2 months old, according to the affidavit.
The girl also told investigators she was forced to write Bible verses and claimed that on one occasion she was made to tread water for 45 minutes. In the week before authorities began investigating the family, she alleged that Jennifer pulled her hair and slapped her hard enough to make her lip bleed.
The affidavit further alleges that Jennifer called the girl derogatory names, told her she was “bipolar like her biological mother,” and gave her details about her biological mother’s alleged substance abuse and death.
After the couple’s arrest, the adopted girl and four minor biological siblings were removed from the home. As the investigation continued, authorities filed additional charges against Joel and Jennifer, including four counts of contributing to the neglect of a child and one count of child neglect.
Both Joel and Jennifer Kohnert have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The case remains under investigation.
Anyone who suspects child abuse can contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453. The hotline is free, confidential, available 24/7, and offers support in more than 170 languages.
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