A couple in Florida are facing child abuse charges after their adoptive daughter made shocking claims. According to the girl, Joel and Jennifer Kohnert subjected her to a specific set of rules that none of their other children had to deal with. She was largely separated from the family, spending hours locked in her room. They also kept her locked in her room overnight and restricted her bathroom access. The poor girl wasn’t even allowed to properly bathe herself and was punished when she soiled herself. She didn’t even sleep in a proper bed or have toys. But in court, the couple tried to use their religious convictions as a shield.
The abuse went on for years and no one knew.
Officers from the Coral Springs Police Department noted in an arrest report obtained by People that they were alerted to the Kohnerts’ suspected abuse in February. A school resource officer made allegations that the 12-year-old girl was locked in her room at night, which was the result of claims that she wandered around the home and took things from others.
While she was locked in her room, the girl didn’t have access to the bathroom, forcing her to pee on herself or on the floor. In the morning, she was forced to clean up the mess with her clothes. As a punishment, she had to write Bible verses.
Police interviewed the girl, who told them she was being locked in her room overnight for the past two or three years. The girl was also forced to bathe outside “despite inadequate weather conditions.”
“She stated that she sleeps on air mattress, has minimal furniture, and has no toys or personal items in her room,” police shared in the report, per People. “She reported that a sound machine is kept at a high volume in her room to prevent her from hearing others in the home.”
The alleged abuse was truly inhumane.
CBS12 also reported on the alleged abuse by Joel and Jennifer Kohnert, citing the same police documents.
The girl was only allowed three outfits at a time, and any additional clothing or money she received was taken by Jennifer. After the girl soiled herself, she was forced to wash her clothes with vinegar and bleach, the police report shared. She had to wash her clothes outside in a small bucket and wear them again.
Investigators said they collected clothes from the home that had stains to support the girl’s claims. Due to her lack of bathroom access, the girl was also forced to brush her teeth in her bedroom and swallow the toothpaste.
In the weeks before the police investigation began, the girl said that Jennifer pulled her hair, slapped her, and made her lip bleed by kicking her, People reported. She also said she was called derogatory names, and her adoptive parents told her distressing things about her biological parents.
Six other children were in the home, and the girl said none of them were treated the same way. The children reportedly backed up her claims, confirming that they had toys and furnished rooms and were not punished as severely.
Joel and Jennifer Kohnert have appeared in court.
The couple was arrested on March 31 by Coral Springs police officers and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, NBC 6 reported. On April 1, 2026, they appeared in front of a bond judge. 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 said.
The judge said he believed they should be charged with aggravated child abuse and set their bond at $100,000 each. They were ordered to not have contact with the 12-year-old girl, their biological children, or any other minors, NBC 6 reported.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Joel is a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lieutenant who was hired on Nov. 15, 2010. He is currently on administrative investigative leave without pay.
According to CBS Miami, the Department of Children and Families has removed all seven children from the Kohnert home.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
