FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Court TV) — A former firefighter and his wife will remain free on bond as they face new charges after prosecutors say they locked their adopted preteen daughter in her bedroom daily.
Jennifer Kohnert appeared in court on July 13, 2026. (Court TV)
Joel Kohnert, 44, and his wife, Jennifer Kohnert, 45, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of neglect of a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor; they had previously pleaded not guilty to a single charge of aggravated child abuse.
Prosecutors say the Kohnerts’ adopted 12-year-old daughter reached out for help to a school resource officer in February, reporting that she was locked in her bedroom each night. While locked in her room, the alleged victim had no access to a bathroom, resulting in her having accidents on the floor. Prosecutors said she was then forced to use her own clothing to clean up the following morning. The bedroom had “no means of escape,” investigators said — with the door locking from the outside and a single window also restricted. The room had minimal furniture; the child slept on an air mattress and first responders said there were no toys or personal items there.
In contrast, the Kohnerts’ six other children, who are biologically related to the couple, had normal bedrooms with toys and personal items, police said.
The alleged victim said that she was required to bathe outside each morning, wearing a bathing suit, no matter the weather. She said she was not allowed to participate in meals or play with her siblings and accused her adoptive mother of calling her names and giving her “distressing information regarding her biological parents, including details of substance abuse and death, which she believed was done intentionally to upset her.”
Jennifer Kohnert and Joel Kohnert were each initially given a $100,000 bond after their arrest for aggravated child abuse. In court on Monday, their attorneys each asked for the previously posted bond to remain the same, despite the additional charges. “At the magistrate hearing, the public defender at that time asked for a $15,000 bond on that count,” Jennifer Kohnert’s attorney, Kenneth Padowitz, said. “The State of Florida asked for a $50,000 bond. The magistrate, on their own, required a $100,000 bond. There’s a very large bond in this case already.”
Joel Kohnert appears at a hearing on July 13, 2026. (Court TV)
Assistant State Attorney Taryn Stein said that the additional charges were filed after new information came to light and forensic interviews were conducted with the couple’s biological children; those interviews, Stein said, corroborated the alleged victim’s account of life inside the home.
Stein said that investigators had also determined that the alleged victim had not been taken for any medical care in six years and had been limping for at least three months; the child has since had surgery on both of her hips.
Jennifer Kohnert spoke briefly at the hearing, telling Judge Frank Ledee that since the initial charges were filed, her husband lost his job as a firefighter and paramedic in Broward County. She was a stay-at-home mother; she said she has now found a part-time job at Walgreens, earning 50 cents above minimum wage for about 15 hours a week.
Officers who investigated the case remarked on Joel Kohnert’s job in the arrest paperwork reviewed by Court TV. “During the interview, Joel acknowledged that there were safety concerns associated with the victim’s bedroom door and window being secured in a manner that restricted her ability to exit. This practice is particularly concerning given Joel’s professional background, where he would reasonably be expected to recognize the inherent safety risks associated with restricting a child’s ability to exit a room during an emergency.”
Ledee agreed to allow both defendants to remain free on the original $100,000 bond but required them to wear GPS monitors and have no contact with the alleged victim.
Ledee set Aug. 31 as the trial date for both defendants.
