A Florida fire rescue lieutenant and his wife – who are “devout Christians” – allegedly forced their adopted daughter to soil herself in her own bedroom for years and then clean up her own mess, police said.
Joel Christopher Kohnert, 44, and his 45-year-old wife, Renee Kohnert, subjected the 12-year-old to years of torment that also included her washing herself outside in a bathing suit and cranking a sound machine in her room in their Coral Springs home, authorities alleged.
The twisted abuse allegedly began as recently as three years ago in a bid to “discipline” the child and only came to light in February, NBC 6 reported, citing arrest reports.
The victim was locked in her room at night after her parents, who have six other children, claimed she wandered the house and took belongings from other family members, the arrest reports claimed.
She wasn’t even allowed to leave the room when she needed to use the bathroom, and had no choice but to urinate or defecate on the floor, the reports stated.
She mopped up the mess the next morning with her own clothing, as well as with vinegar and bleach before washing those dirty clothes in a bucket outside and drying them back in her room, the court docs alleged.
She slept on an air mattress and had little furniture and zero toys – though a sound machine was blasted so she could not hear other family members in the home, according to authorities.
Some of the alleged punishments the young girl was subjected to included treading water for as long as 45 minutes and writing out Bible verses. At times, her adopted mother pulled her hair, slapped her face and kicked her on the ground, the reports obtained by NBC 6 alleged.
But in court on Wednesday, the Kohnerts’ lawyer disputed allegations in the report and painted a picture of two “devout Christians” who are “devoutly religious,” the station reported.
The judge during their arraignment wasn’t buying it and ordered them held on $100,000 bail.
“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,” he said.
The victim was previously homeschooled, but started attending school, where staff became suspicious of possible abuse, the outlet reported.
Christopher Kohnert has been a public servant since 2010, serving as a lieutenant with the Broward County Sheriff’s Rescue Fire, according to reports.
The couple faces charges of child abuse without great bodily harm, and the husband was also placed on administrative leave from his job.
All seven of their children have also been removed from their custody.