‘Child abuser’ gets 20 years sentence in 9-month-old’s death
Anthoni Cirra will spend the next 20 years in prison in the death nearly two years ago of 9-month-old Lochlan Steffes.
Cirra’s voice broke during his sentencing Tuesday as he apologized to the parents and family of the child, conceding he should have acted sooner to take Lochlan to a hospital when he first showed signs of distress.
Prosecutors said Cirra’s inaction to help Lochlan and his deception over what happened before the child was admitted to a hospital the morning of July 6, 2022, contributed to his death later that night.
“He’s a child abuser,” Assistant District Attorney Matthew Torbenson said. “And his abuse led to the death of a 9-month-old infant.”
Torbenson conceded the evidence against Cirra was circumstantial, but it all showed Lochlan’s death resulted from an intentional act, not an accident.
Cirra, 26, made a deal to plead guilty last month to second-degree reckless homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Wagner on Tuesday ordered him to serve 15 years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision for the homicide conviction. He also sentenced Cirra to a five-year prison term for the reckless endangering charge, followed by five years extended supervision.
The sentences are to run consecutively.
Cirra was one of three adults who initially were taken into custody after Lochlan was brought to the hospital unresponsive, with head injuries and not breathing.
Only Cirra was criminally charged.
Hours went by before Steffes got help
According to a criminal complaint, Cirra, a friend of the parents, had been watching Lochlan at their home in the 1500 block of South Third Street, in the Clock Tower Acres neighborhood on Milwaukee’s south side.
Cirra had driven the parents to work in the morning. Later in the day, Cirra picked up the parents and brought them back home.
At that point, Lochlan’s mother realized her son’s breathing was shallow. Torbenson argued Cirra talked the mother out of taking the child to the hospital that night, and that his condition only worsened.
Eventually, 911 was called, but then his breathing had become more shallow, his eyes were fixed and he was unresponsive, Torbenson said.
That triggered a child abuse investigation, which determined Lochlan had internal bleeding consistent with a brain injury.
According to a criminal complaint, Cirra initially denied to both the parents and the police he had abused Lochlan, but later disclosed the child’s head had struck the floor after a bath.
He also claimed he had dropped the car seat with Lochlan in it that morning, but that the child had appeared uninjured.
Lochlan had extensive bruising on his legs and arms, and on both sides of his head. Tests showed Lochlan had subdural bleeding in his brain. An antipsychotic medication also was found in Lochlan’s system.
Cirra said in court Friday he gave it to Lochlan, hoping the child would sleep.
“The pain and suffering he went through in his short life must’ve been enormous,” the judge said. “You had a responsibility to this child and you failed terribly.”