North Texas Christian influencers, authors arrested for alleged abuse of teen girl, court documents say

A couple known for their best-selling Christian book have been arrested for child abuse charges in North Texas, according to court documents.

Heather Marie Day and Seth Michael Day, both 39, were taken into custody by Keene police officers on Sept. 24, after an outcry by a teacher concerning the physical abuse of a teen girl.

Heather Day has been charged with injury to a child (omission), and Seth Day has been charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child and injury to a child.

How the investigation began

According to the arrest affidavit, on Sept. 24, a high school teacher contacted the Keene Police Department concerning a 14-year-old girl who had visible injuries to her face and head.

The victim was taken to the Johnson County Children's Advocacy Center, where she shared the details of what she described as ongoing abuse.

The victim told police she was last assaulted by Seth Day on Sept. 22, and that he does it out of "anger," the affidavit said. She also shared that it happened while Heather Day and two siblings were inside the home, that the visible injuries to her face were from being hit with a cellphone.

While undergoing treatment for her injuries at Cook Children's Medical Center, the victim made an outcry that Seth Day sexually assaulted her, also on Sept. 22, police said. After obtaining a search warrant, detectives found evidence of both the physical and sexual assaults at the family's home.

History of abuse

The victim told police that Seth Day had abused her multiple times.

The affidavit said the victim detailed another incident that was investigated by Child Protective Services in August 2026 while they lived in Midland, Texas. The victim said the abuse happened again at another home in Keene, which is southwest of Fort Worth, "but they ended up moving out of that address due to a CPS report," the affidavit said.

According to CPS, there have been other reports made that were closed at the state level, with the last being the incident in Midland, police said.

The victim told police that she continually told Heather Day of the abuse and that Heather Day never reported it to the authorities.

The victim said that when Heather Day took her to the hospital following past assaults, she would tell medical staff that she did not know how her daughter was hurt. Heather Day is also accused of trying to get the victim to lie about her injuries, persuading her to cover up with a mask while at school, and telling the victim she had the autoimmune disease hereditary angioedema, which causes swelling. Police said the disease does cause swelling, but the lacerations and bruises suffered by the victim are not symptoms.

Both Heather Day and Seth Day have been booked into the Johnson County jail, records show.

What we know about the couple 

Heather Day is a Christian podcast host, and the couple co-authored a relationship book titled "I'll See You Tomorrow."   

Seth Day is a professor at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene. The school said Day was placed on administrative leave following his arrest. 

"We are fully cooperating with law enforcement. We understand that the current allegations do not involve SWAU students, staff, or other faculty members. The safety of our University community remains our first priority. We will share additional details as appropriate," the university said in a social media post.