Sommer pleads not guilty to charges he abused his triplet daughters

MILWAUKEE -- Steven Sommer of Milwaukee pleaded not guilty Tuesday morning, May 8th, to charges he abused his triplet daughters who are only three months old.

A Milwaukee County judge has bound Sommer over for trial -- and his next court date is set for Friday, May 25th.

Sommer has been charged with six felony counts of child abuse, neglect, intentional bodily harm and failing to seek medical attention for his infant daughters' injuries.

The abuse of the triplets was identified when the girls' mother brought them to Children's Hospital on April 23rd. She worried because one of the girls would cry when their left leg was touched.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Sommer on Monday, May 7th, the first instance of abuse occurred around March 21st. That's when Sommer moved in with the children and their mother at a home on Milwaukee's south side.

Sommer initially denied any intentional injuries to his children, but later stated that he was frustrated and could have possibly twisted the triplets' legs out of frustration.

The complaint indicates Sommer demonstrated with a doll to investigators "how he would forcibly change the triplets’ diapers." Sommer told investigators he injured the girls by "taking each infant’s legs, bending the legs back and pressing on the baby’s pelvis, and then sometimes twisting the legs inward." The complaint says Sommer changed the babies this way and they "would often begin to cry to the point that they would lose their voice as their faces turned red in pain and agony."

According to the criminal complaint, Sommer says he changed the triplets’ diapers about five or six times since he moved in. He told investigators the mother "never witnessed him doing this to the babies."

Sommer also stated he has "an anger management problem and feared doing something worse to the vulnerable infant girls."

If convicted of the charges, Sommer faces up 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Carmen Pitre with the Sojourner Family Peace Center hears about these unsettling cases where the most vulnerable are frequent targets of physical abuse. She says this case is just another reminder for everyone who is trapped to seek help, before it's too late.

"It's quite common for children to be caught in the crossfire. What we need to create in the community is a way for us sooner in our lives to self-reflect and say 'hey, I have a problem. I need some help now,' long before the cops have to be called," Pitre said.

If convicted of the charges, Sommer faces up 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines.

Investigators also discovered a one-year-old baby boy in the home also had injuries.

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