A husband-and-wife team of bestselling Christian authors has been arrested in Keene, Texas, on charges of child abuse, after a high school teacher reported possible abuse of a teen girl to police.

Seth Michael Day and Heather Marie Day, both 39, were taken into custody on September 24 by Keene police officers in Johnson County, according to court records and police documents obtained by USA Today and CBS News Texas. Seth Day was initially charged with injury to a child, and sexual assault of a child charges were added after further investigation. Heather Day was charged with injury to a child by omission.

Heather Day is a well-known Christian author, speaker, and podcaster whose work has been featured by Christianity Today, Religion News Service, Barna Group, and Newsweek. Seth Day is an assistant professor of psychology at Southwestern Adventist University. In October 2022, the couple co-authored the bestselling relationship book I’ll See You Tomorrow, published by Thomas Nelson, with a foreword by Beth Moore.

The case began when a high school teacher called police on September 24 after noticing injuries to the Days’ 14-year-old daughter. The girl was taken to the Johnson County Children’s Advocacy Center and later treated at Cook Children’s Medical Center, according to reporting from CBS News Texas and the National News Desk.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by USA Today, the girl told police that on or around September 22, Seth Day assaulted her out of anger, striking her in the face with a cellphone and leaving visible lacerations, bruises, and bleeding. While receiving medical treatment, the girl also told officials that Seth Day had sexually assaulted her that same day, and she described a history of abuse. Investigators obtained a search warrant and said they found evidence related to the alleged physical and sexual assaults at the family’s home.

The affidavit also says the girl told police she had previously informed Heather Day of the abuse, but that her mother never reported it to authorities. Heather Day is accused of trying to conceal the injuries — including telling the girl to wear a mask at school to cover them and, at the hospital, saying she did not know how the teen was hurt. She is also accused of trying to persuade the girl to say her swelling was caused by a rare disorder, hereditary angioedema. “Bruising and lacerations such as the injuries on the teen girl are not a symptom of the disease,” the affidavit reads.

Southwestern Adventist University placed Seth Day on administrative leave, the school announced on September 28, saying it is fully cooperating with law enforcement and that the allegations do not involve university students, staff, or faculty. As of October 8, both Seth and Heather Day had bonded out of jail, according to Fox 4 Dallas. USA Today contacted the Johnson County District Clerk’s Office on October 8 to ask whether the Days had obtained attorneys, but had not received a response.

It is important to note that the Days have been charged — they have not been convicted, and they are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The investigation remains ongoing.