A Fire Lieutenant and his wife are behind bars after authorities discovered their 12-year-old daughter had allegedly been locked in her bedroom for years. Joel Kohnert, 44, and Jennifer Kohnert, 45, were arrested Tuesday by Coral Springs Police. Both face a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm.
The investigation began in February after a school resource officer alerted the Department of Children and Families. According to a redacted probable cause affidavit, the girl told investigators her bedroom door and window were locked from the outside for the past two to three years.
To keep her from hearing the rest of the family, a sound machine was reportedly blasted at high volume outside her door.
Inside the room, the girl slept on an air mattress while other children in the home had furnished rooms filled with toys.
Police say the victim had no access to a bathroom and was forced to urinate and defecate in her room, later cleaning the mess with her own clothes. She was also reportedly made to bathe outside and wash her laundry in a bucket.
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During a bond hearing on Wednesday, defense attorneys described the Kohnerts as “devout Christians” and disputed the allegations. However, Broward Judge Corey Friedman pushed back against the idea that religious beliefs played a role in the child’s treatment.
“When you’ve allegedly 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,” Judge Friedman said in court.
Prosecutors noted that the couple’s biological children provided statements to investigators. An officer who entered the girl’s room reported a strong odor of urine. Additional allegations in the affidavit state the girl was called derogatory names and forced to tread water in a pool for 45 minutes as punishment.
The affidavit specifically highlighted Joel Kohnert’s profession, noting that as a first responder, he should have recognized the extreme safety risks of locking a child in a room during a potential emergency. Kohnert has been with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue since 2010 and is currently on administrative leave without pay.
While neighbors spoke to local media defending the couple as “awesome parents,” the court set bond at $100,000 each. The children in the home have been removed and placed in state custody.
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