HAMILTON — Two charges in a “shaken baby” case have been dropped, but two counts remain.

        The action, revealed Monday, follows the resignation of Kacy Eaves, a Butler County assistant prosecutor who was criticized for her handling of the case of James Neil Howard.

Howard

        Mr. Howard, 28, of Hamilton, has maintained he did not harm his infant son, Draven. The child suffered brain and eye injuries suggestive of abuse, but a neurosurgeon last month said the child's vacuum- and forceps-assisted birth could be to blame.

        “All I can say is I'm an innocent man. I didn't do any of it,” Mr. Howard said Monday. “I would never hurt my kids. I would die for my kids. My kids are my life, and I miss them something awful.”

        Mr. Howard, under court order to stay away from Draven, was indicted more than a year ago on four felony child-endangering charges relating to incidents on Feb. 8, April 1, April 4 and June 30 last year.

        The Feb. 8 and June 30 charges were dismissed in an order that Prosecutor Robin Piper filed Friday. His office declined to specify reasons for that action Monday, but records show medical findings did not support the two dropped charges.

        Draven's Feb. 8 collapsed lung “was not linked to any type of trauma,” a medical report says. And Children's Hospital Medical Center has said that June 30 test results, which showed a “re-bleed” of a previous head injury, were not considered evidence of abuse.
       

Medical records sealed

        More than five months ago, The Cincinnati Enquirer reviewed those records and asked Ms. Eaves questions about the Feb. 8 and June 30 charges. Ms. Eaves did not respond, but instead asked Judge Keith Spaeth to seal all medical records in the case. He complied.

        Ms. Eaves' resignation, which took effect Sept. 17, cited the Howard case among her frustrations. Joe Statzer, spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said all of Ms. Eaves' active cases were being reviewed in the wake of her resignation.

        “This administration is committed to doing what is right. We will always seize the opportunity to fortify our commitment in seeking the truth,” Mr. Piper said, adding that ethical rules prohibit him from commenting further on a pending case.

        Mr. Howard's trial, which has been postponed three times, is set for Oct. 29 on the remaining two charges.

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