GRAFTON, W.Va. – A Grafton couple is in custody for allegedly abusing a 9-year-old girl.
The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office announced that 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 after school staff reported signs of abuse.
The investigation began after the 9-year-old girl showed up to school with bruises on her face and told school staff she had been locked in her room and beaten.
According to court documents, the child described a silver and green metal fly swatter, a brown belt with a turquoise buckle, and a wooden paddle with holes in it that were all used to beat her, all of which were found upon searching the Nuzum’s residence after the interview.
During conversations with deputies, the Nuzums reportedly admitted to locking the girl in her room when “they went out to smoke” so that she wouldn’t “get a cell phone out of their room” because they “caught her calling 911 before.” Deputies found a wooden block with four screws and a locking mechanism attached to it in a dresser drawer that lined up with holes in the girl’s bedroom door.
Court documents also stated that the girl received bruises on her face, with one of them on her eyelid, which she said was from her father hitting her in the face with the metal flyswatter. She also advised investigators that her father attempted to keep her from going to school the next day after the incident.
While talking with deputies about the abuse, Josephine Nuzum allegedly said her daughter “does this every year school starts” and claimed that she only disciplined her with “her hand on her rear end.” Lewis allegedly told deputies that he has “beat the a– off her” but only with his hand.
The Nuzums are both currently in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail. Lewis’s bond is set at $100,000, and Josephine’s is set at $50,000.