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Broward Fire Lieutenant, Wife Jailed on Child Abuse Charges in Alleged Yearslong Confinement of Adopted Girl

The ruling underscores that alleged confinement and deprivation fall outside protected religious practice.

Overview

  • Judge Corey B. Friedman set bonds Wednesday at $100,000 each and barred contact with the child and access to firearms.
  • A redacted affidavit says the 12-year-old was locked in a bedroom from the outside for two to three years without bathroom access and slept on an air mattress as a loud sound machine ran.
  • The Coral Springs case opened in February after a school resource officer's alert, and prosecutors say statements from the couple's children and physical signs support the allegations.
  • Florida's child-welfare agency removed all seven children from the home, and Joel Kohnert was placed on unpaid administrative investigative leave from Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue.
  • During the bond hearing, the judge rejected the defense’s religious framing of the alleged discipline as a justification.