A Florida firefighter and his wife are accused of locking their 12-year-old daughter in a bedroom for years where she slept on an air mattress and had no access to a bathroom, according to authorities.

Joel Kohnert, 44, a Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue lieutenant, and his wife, Jennifer Kohnert, 45, were arrested Tuesday by Coral Springs Police and each charged with one count of child abuse without great bodily harm, according to jail records.

During a bond hearing Wednesday, a defense attorney described the couple as “devout Christians” and disputed chilling details of the affidavit, according to WTVJ.

But Broward Judge Corey Friedman rejected the notion that the alleged treatment could be justified by religion.

“They are devoutly religious. Their beliefs on various topics may not jibe with people in this courtroom, but this has been a lot of – I’m not going to say this case is predicated on, in my view – when you’ve allegedly 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,” Judge Corey Friedman said in court on Wednesday.

The allegations came to light in February when the Department of Children and Families began investigating after a meeting with a school resource officer, according to a redacted probable cause affidavit obtained by the Sun Sentinel.

The girl told investigators that for two to three years, her bedroom door was locked from the outside overnight and sometimes during the day. Her window was also locked, leaving her unable to escape, the affidavit states. A sound machine was played at high volume to prevent her from hearing others in the home.

She said she was called derogatory names and told she had bipolar disorder like her biological mother, as well as being told distressing information about her biological parents.

Authorities said the child had no access to a bathroom and was forced to wash her clothes in a bucket and bathe outside.

Investigators also noted stark differences between her room and those of other children in the home, which were described as clean and furnished with toys and personal belongings. The 12-year-old, by contrast, had only an air mattress.

As punishment, the girl was allegedly required to write Bible verses and tread water in the pool for up to 45 minutes, according to the affidavit.

In court on Wednesday, a prosecutor said the children in the home have since been placed in state custody and that evidence supports the allegations.

“Their biological children gave statements,” a prosecutor said. “There is physical evidence. The officer stated when she went into the room, among other things, she smelled urine.”

Investigators highlighted Joel Kohnert’s role as a first responder as “particularly concerning,” noting in the affidavit that 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.”

Joel Kohnert has worked for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue since November 15, 2010, and is currently on administrative investigative leave without pay, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson.

A neighbor told WPLG that the allegations are “a lie” and described the couple as “awesome parents” whose “kids are doing so well.”

The couple is being held at the Broward Main Jail on a bond of $100,000 each.