STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - A woman who was jailed for eight days on felony charges she let her three children get severely sunburned was released Wednesday after those charges were dropped.

        Jefferson County Prosecutor Brian Felmet said he dismissed the three felony child endangerment charges against Eve Hibbits, 31, of Brilliant, because the children were not as severely injured as officials had thought.

        Hospital officials initially told authorities the children suffered from second-degree burns but later reduced that to first-degree burns, Mr. Felmet said.

        “I don't feel they (the charges) were too severe based on that information,” he said. “With the benefit of hindsight with the information we have now, we feel they weren't warranted.”

        After prosecutors dropped the felony charges, they charged Ms. Hibbits with a single count of misdemeanor child endangerment. She pleaded innocent and was released on her own recognizance. She had been held on $15,000 bond.

        “This case is most likely going to result in a probation situation and there's no need for more than one charge,” Mr. Felmet said. The maximum penalty for the misdemeanor is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

        Mr. Hibbits' attorney, Shawn Blake, did not return calls to his office seeking comment Wednesday.

        Mr. Hibbits was arrested last week after a sheriff's deputy noticed her 2-year-old daughter, Rose, and 10-month-old twin boys, Thomas and Timmy, had sunburned faces at the Jefferson County Fair.

        Sheriff Fred Abdalla said the children did not have any sunscreen or shirts on, were red and slightly swollen and one was crying uncontrollably when a deputy spotted them and took them to a first aid station Aug. 13. Earlier this week, he said their faces looked like they had been “dipped in red paint.”

        He said it was about 95 degrees that day with high humidity, and the boys' bodies were partially covered with a heavy afghan. Ms. Hibbits was arrested the following day.

        Mr. Felmet said authorities also were concerned because they discovered that one of the twins had a collapsed lung. But medical records showed the boy's underdeveloped lung was the result of being born prematurely.

        “Never was it anybody's intent to put her in prison. ... My intent was for the safety of the children, which was accomplished, and to give her a wake-up call,” Sheriff Abdalla said. “It's easy to become a parent. The most difficult thing is being one.”

Cents of balance, or penny-ante rule?
Ben-Mar partner accused of hiding home fixtures
Deaths pile up along I-75 in N.Ky.
Ft. Thomas schools weigh hefty tax hike
NAACP changes plans for dinner
Elementary school, college link up
Evelyn Hampton, 94, helped church lift every voice
Grand jury testimony in Twitty case starts Monday
Investors told: Think regionally
Let us know about 9-11 ceremonies in Tristate
Norwood may have to vote again on city levy
Reading voters dodge tax
Tristate A.M. Report
Area man tested for West Nile virus
HOWARD: Some Good News
PULFER: James Levine
RADEL: Immigrant prejudice
Businessman may change guilty plea
Fairfield council OKs community center deal
High-growth Deerfield Twp. could grow some trustees
Schools tighten budget
Talawanda scales back levy, building plans
Counties must spend less on welfare-to-work
Ex-professor blames lover for child porn
GOP lawmakers working to put limits on jury awards
Hagan: No money for TV ads in gov. race
Lawmaker wants to put stop to double-dip
Mother of sunburned children released from jail
Ohio Dems split on gambling
Shroud of Turin tests are flawed, say researchers
Erlanger's new $7M library nearly ready
Robber uses ransom ruse