A husband and wife known for their best-selling Christian book have been arrested and charged with child abuse in Texas, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY.
Seth Michael Day and Heather Marie Day, both 39, were taken into custody by Keene police officers in Johnson County on Sept. 24 after a teacher reported the possible abuse of a teen girl.
Seth Day was initially charged with injury to a child, and later had sexual assault of a child charges added on after further investigation. Meanwhile, Heather Day was charged with injury to a child by omission.
Heather Day is a well-known Christian writer and co-author of the best-selling relationship book “I'll See You Tomorrow,” which she wrote with her husband.
Seth Day is a professor at Southwestern
Adventist University. In a statement posted Sept. 28 on Facebook, the school said Day is on administrative leave.
“We are fully cooperating with law enforcement. We understand that the current allegations do not involve SWAU students, staff, or other faculty members,” the school said.
USA TODAY contacted the Johnson County District Clerk's Office on Oct. 8 to inquire whether Seth and Heather Day had attorneys, but has not received a response.
A teacher’s report
Following the teacher’s report, the teenage girl told police that the assaults happened on or around Sept. 22, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA TODAY. On that occasion, Seth Day is alleged to have thrown a cellphone at her face, leaving visible lacerations, bruises and bleeding.
The teen said that the abuse happened while Heather Day and two siblings were present inside the home, the affidavit says. The teen also said that Day had a history of abusing and assaulting her.
Police obtained a search warrant, and detectives found evidence of both the physical and sexual assaults at the Day family home.
Abuse went unreported, affidavit says
According to the affidavit, the teen said she had informed Heather Day of previous abuse, but that Heather Day had never reported it to the authorities.
The teen told police that when Heather Day took her to the hospital following other assaults, Heather Day would say she did not know how the teen was hurt. Heather Day is also accused of trying to persuade the girl to lie about her injuries.
In the affidavit, Heather Day is alleged to have tried to persuade the teen to wear a mask at school to cover up her injuries. She also tried convincing the teen that she had hereditary angioedema, a rare disorder "characterized by recurrent episodes of severe swelling," including of the face, intestinal tract and airway, according to MedlinePlus.
"Research was done on the disease, which in fact does cause swelling of certain parts of the body, but bruising and lacerations such as the injuries on the (teen girl), are not a symptom of the disease," the affidavit reads.
As of Oct. 8, both Seth and Heather Day have bonded out of jail, Fox 4 Dallas and WFFA reported.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Authors of best-selling Christian book charged in child abuse case
