The lawyer for a young Windsor father accused of injuring his infant daughter just before Christmas said Wednesday that he’s innocent and the baby’s mother supports him.
Last week, Kevin Peaslee, 21, pleaded not guilty to felony counts of aggravated assault and assault after police accused him of shaking his 6-month-old daughter, Aleah, while the two were alone at an apartment on Capitol Street in Augusta on Dec. 21. Police said Peaslee shared the apartment with 17-year-old Virginia Trask, his girlfriend and the baby’s mother.
On Wednesday, Peaslee’s attorney, James Lawley, released a statement saying while the baby’s injury is “a devastating situation,” his client is innocent, and Trask and his family are standing by him.
“They do not believe he is guilty,” Lawley said.
Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney has said the baby was permanently blinded and her brain damaged after the incident. The baby, now nearly 8 months old, left a Portland hospital on Jan. 27, two days before her father posted bail and left the Kennebec County jail.
His bail conditions prohibited him from contacting Trask and the baby, and Maloney has said she considers Trask a victim. However, last week, Trask told WGME, a Portland CBS affiliate, that she is still in a relationship with Peaslee and the baby’s injury was an accident.
Little is known about the investigation that led to the charges against Peaslee.
Maloney has said that on Dec. 21, Peaslee was driving with the baby when an Augusta policeman pulled him over at the intersection of Capitol Street and Capitol Street Extension after Peaslee ran a stop sign. Police have said the officer saw the baby needed medical attention, so he took the father and daughter to a nearby fire station.
Eventually, Maine State Police Detective Abbe Chabot took over the investigation into Peaslee’s involvement. But Maloney said last week that she wouldn’t discuss how police linked the injuries to the alleged shaking incident. She also wouldn’t authorize the release of related police reports for fear of tainting a potential jury pool.
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