Neopit pair indicted in child abuse, neglect case involving severe injuries

A federal grand jury has indicted two Neopit residents, Louis A. Tucker, 23, and Nyomi L.M. Acosta, 21, in a child abuse case that investigators say left a Native American Indian child with severe injuries, including a fractured left radius and ulna and burns to the back and torso.

The two-count indictment, returned Dec. 9, 2025, and announced Dec. 19, 2025, charges both defendants with child abuse causing great bodily harm and child neglect. Prosecutors allege the conduct took place between about Sept. 29, 2025, and Oct. 20, 2025, on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Neopit.

According to the indictment, Tucker and Acosta recklessly caused great bodily harm by striking the child about the head and body, leaving bruising and other marks. The second count alleges they negligently failed to provide necessary care and medical care for reasons other than poverty, seriously endangering the child’s physical, mental and emotional health.

Because the alleged crimes happened on the Menominee Indian Reservation, the case is being prosecuted in federal court in Green Bay under laws that apply in Indian Country. The Eastern District of Wisconsin says crimes on the reservation are primarily governed by federal and tribal law, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office has said it works with tribal, federal and local partners to investigate and prosecute serious offenses involving children and violent crime.

The Menominee Tribal Police Department and the FBI investigated the case, with assistance from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Maier is handling the prosecution.

If convicted, Tucker and Acosta each face up to 10 years in prison on the child abuse count and up to 7½ years on the child neglect count, along with possible fines, a special assessment and supervised release.

The indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Tucker and Acosta are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial.

The case also underscores how child abuse cases move through Menominee communities. The federal prosecutors’ office says it helped create the Menominee Tribal Multi-Disciplinary Team, which brings tribal, federal and local agencies together to respond to physical and sexual child abuse and criminal neglect on the reservation. The office also says the Menominee Indian Reservation Violent Crime/Safe Trails Task Force, formed in 2003, continues to focus on violent crime and drug trafficking in Indian Country.