A Florida children’s author – known for penning stories about friendship – was charged alongside her husband for abusing and neglecting their adopted children, authorities said.

Jennifer Wolfthal, the author of “A Real Friend,” and her husband, Joseph Wolfthal, an engineer for Lockheed Martin, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to aggravated child abuse and neglect of a child with great bodily harm, according to plea agreements obtained by Fox News Digital.

Jennifer Wolfthal will be sentenced to 12 years in prison, while her husband will be sentenced to 10 years behind bars, according to the plea agreement.

“This plea and sentencing agreement ensures that the Wolfthals will spend significant time in prison while it protects the already-traumatized victims from the stress of having to testify,” a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office in Florida’s 18th judicial circuit said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The State Attorney’s office made sure law enforcement and the children’s new guardian supported this sentence before it agreed to it.”

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.