Man Received Probation For Abusing Infants

A Bourbon man received probation for abusing his infant twins, while the mother of the children still has her case pending.

Steven Kuzuk, 30, was sentenced Nov. 20, 2023 after pleading guilty to abuse or neglect of a child.

Kuzuf was sentenced by Judge Michael Randazzo to five years probation.

A probation citation report was filed against Kuzuf on May 29.

Kuzuf and Sakura Lohmeyer, 25, were charged in September 2023 with two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of abuse or neglect of a child.

The first two charges were dropped against Kuzuf, who served 120 days shock detention.

Court documents show Lohmeyer was scheduled to appear in court May 7.

It is unclear when her next appearance will be held.

Lohmeyer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The state began investigating the couple in late 2022 after the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office received a report of “suspicious non-accidental injuries” to four-month-old twins.”

According to the probable cause statement, the twins were admitted to the hospital following a regularly scheduled visit with their primary care physician. 

The doctor observed injuries and instructed Lohmeyer to take them to the hospital for further evaluation.

One of the twins had upper eyelid bruising, chest bruising and a medial subconjunctival hemorrhage on the right eye.

CT results showed three different hematomas — blood forming on the surface of the brain.

The cervical spine showed a small amount of hematoma within the spinal canal.

An x-ray showed the baby had a “subtle irregularity” on a femur consistent with a “bucket-handle fracture.”

The doctor said the injury was consistent with someone grabbing the baby by the leg or foot and shaking them.

The baby also had two rib fractures.

During a weight check, it was found the baby was below the third percentile for weight after being 50th percentile two months earlier.

Lohmeyer told the doctors she lost the recipe for formula and that it was too complicated.

The baby had been placed on a special formula every four hours due to being born premature.

Lohmeyer said she had been feeding the twins “regular formula.”

Multiple missed appointments with doctors and specialists were noted on the chart.

Lohmeyer and Kuzuf signed a memorandum Jan. 23, 2023 admitting the injuries to the twins occurred in their care, custody and control.

The probable cause statement said Kuzuf commented during the twins’ exam that “back in the day when a kid had bruising it was just a kid being a kid, now when a kid has bruising everyone thinks you’re abusing them.”