A Grafton couple faces serious felony charges after a nine-year-old girl arrived at school with visible bruises and reported being repeatedly beaten and locked in her room, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
Lewis “Butch” Nuzum, II, 52, and Josephine Nuzum, 45, have each been charged with child abuse resulting in injury and child neglect resulting in injury. The investigation was launched after the child confided in school staff about the abuse she endured at her home.
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The girl provided investigators with specific and harrowing details, describing a silver and green metal fly swatter, a brown belt with a turquoise buckle, and a wooden paddle with holes in it as the instruments used to strike her. Court documents confirm that deputies subsequently located all three of these items during a search of the Nuzum residence, as per WDTV.
The child’s account extended beyond physical beatings. She reported being locked in her bedroom, a claim the suspects allegedly corroborated. The Nuzums told deputies they confined the girl when “they went out to smoke” to prevent her from taking “a cell phone out of their room,” as they had “caught her calling 911 before.”
Investigators found physical evidence supporting this, discovering a wooden block with a locking mechanism in a dresser drawer that perfectly aligned with holes on the girl’s bedroom door. One of the most severe injuries was a bruise on the girl’s eyelid. She stated this occurred when her father, Lewis, hit her in the face with the metal flyswatter. The child told authorities she “cried really hard” from the pain.
She added that her father attempted to keep her from going to school the following day, but she “wanted to go to school.” When confronted by deputies, the suspects gave conflicting statements. Josephine Nuzum dismissed the allegations, claiming her daughter “does this every year school starts” and insisting she only used “her hand on her rear end” for discipline.
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In stark contrast, Lewis Nuzum admitted to deputies that he had “beat the a– off her” but also claimed he used only his hand. The Nuzums are currently being held at the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. Lewis Nuzum is being held on a $100,000 bond, while Josephine Nuzum’s bond is set at $50,000.
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