AUGUSTA — The baby who prosecutors say was blinded after being shaken by her father was released from a Portland hospital this week, the hospital said Wednesday, the same day her father was bailed out of jail.

Little is known about the assault case against Kevin Peaslee, 21, of Windsor, the father of Aleah Peaslee, the 6-month-old girl who left Maine Medical Center on Monday.

Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney has said the baby was permanently blinded and her brain damaged after being shaken by her father on Dec. 21 while the two were alone at a Capitol Street apartment. He shared the apartment with 17-year-old Virginia Trask, Peaslee’s girlfriend and the baby’s mother, who Maloney has said was at work at the time of the alleged assault.

On Tuesday, Maloney attributed her description of the baby’s injuries to “medical records” she has received. But Lisa Whittier, Peaslee’s defense attorney at a Monday court hearing, told a judge that she didn’t think all the medical evidence about the baby’s condition was available, suggesting that the extent of Aleah’s injuries isn’t known.

Peaslee is now represented by James Lawley, an attorney at Lipman & Katz, an Augusta firm, who didn’t immediately respond to calls Wednesday.

The suspect left the Kennebec County jail Wednesday morning after posting $50,000 bail in the form of real estate. A corresponding lien against the Windsor home of his parents, Randy and Sherry Peaslee, was recorded Tuesday by the county’s registry of deeds.

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Whittier said Monday that if Peaslee were freed on bail, he would live at that home, on Weeks Mills Road. Bail conditions prohibit him from having contact with Trask or Aleah.

The baby’s whereabouts are unclear. Maine Medical Center said it couldn’t release more information about the child. A man answering Randy Peaslee’s cellphone hung up after a reporter identified himself. On Monday, Portland TV station WGME reported that Maine Med said the child was “a ward of the state.”

However, John Martins, spokesman for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday that he “cannot confirm nor deny any involvement in any case due to confidentiality laws.” Maloney said Monday that DHHS was looking into the case, but on Wednesday she said she didn’t know how the department had moved forward.

Peaslee was arrested Jan. 24, charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault – all felonies – after being indicted by a Kennebec County grand jury.

Maloney has said that on Dec. 21, Peaslee was driving with the baby when he was pulled over for running a stop sign. Jared Mills, the city’s deputy police chief, said his officer noticed the baby needed medical help, so he took Peaslee and the baby for help. Maloney said Tuesday that she wouldn’t discuss how police linked the injuries to the alleged shaking incident for fear of tainting a potential jury pool.

Kennebec Journal Staff Writer Betty Adams contributed to this report.

Michael Shepherd can be contacted at 370-7652 or at:

mshepherd@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @mikeshepherdme


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