Neopit couple sentenced in federal child neglect case involving infant injuries

An anonymous tip about bruises set off the welfare check that uncovered an 8-month-old child in Neopit with a burn, broken bones and bruising to the head and body, a case that has become a stark example of how quickly a child-protection concern on the Menominee Indian Reservation can escalate into federal criminal charges and prison terms for Louis Tucker and Nyomi Acosta.

Senior U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach sentenced Tucker to three years in federal prison on May 15, followed by three years of supervised release. Acosta received one year and one day in prison on May 29, followed by three years of supervised release. Tucker pleaded guilty on February 19, and Acosta pleaded guilty on February 26, closing the courtroom phase of a case that began with a grand jury indictment on December 9, 2025.

Federal prosecutors said the couple was responsible for the child’s welfare but did not seek medical attention after the abuse. The indictment alleged the injuries occurred between about September 29 and October 20, 2025, and said the child’s left radius and ulna were fractured while the back and torso were burned. The child neglect charge also said Tucker and Acosta failed, for reasons other than poverty, to provide necessary care and medical care and seriously endangered the child’s physical, mental and emotional health.

Court documents described a report of possible child abuse that reached tribal social services and tribal law enforcement, followed by a visit to the home on October 20 by a social worker and a Menominee Tribal Police officer. Local reporting also said family members photographed the injuries, and the child was later taken to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where doctors estimated the arm fractures had happened weeks earlier. The case was investigated by the Menominee Tribal Police Department and the FBI, with help from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and prosecuted in federal court in Green Bay by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Maier.

For families in Neopit and across Menominee County, the case lays out the warning signs that can demand immediate attention: unexplained bruising, burns, fractures, sores around the mouth and a child who appears badly hurt but is not getting medical care. In a small community, those signs can be the difference between a report that stops abuse and a case that reaches the hospital, the FBI and federal prison. Wisconsin’s Department of Children and Families also publicly tracks critical incident reviews in serious child injury cases, underscoring that the impact of this case reaches beyond sentencing and into how child safety is monitored and questioned across the reservation.