A Spring Grove man accused of breaking his infant son's leg was released from custody Monday after a McHenry County judge agreed, over the objection of prosecutors, to cut his bond in half.

Brian E. Felch, 44, had been in the McHenry County jail on a $100,000 bond since his Sept. 22 arrest on a charge of aggravated battery to a child stemming from an Aug. 22 incident in which the one-month-old boy was taken to an emergency room with a broken femur.

Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Philip Hiscock said that, according to statements from the boy's mother, the injury occurred while the defendant was changing his son's diaper. During the changing, he said, the mother heard a loud scream from the child and then Felch came to her and said they had to go to the emergency room.

A doctor who examined the boy, Hiscock said, reported the injury indicated a "very, very high probability of child abuse."

"We think he is a danger to this particular child, and children in general," he added.

Felch's attorney, however, noted that there was no bruising or any other outward sign of injury to the boy, an unexpected finding given the force one would expect necessary to break a femur.

"There are theories as to how this happened other than the one postulated by the state," Senior Assistant Public Defender Christopher Harmon said.

Felch, Harmon added, has a steady job as the sole breadwinner for this wife and six other children and has no significant criminal history before last month's arrest.

Judge Joseph Condon agreed to lower Felch's bond to $50,000, but added as a condition of his release he cannot have any contact with the infant. Felch is scheduled to return to court Oct. 22 for a likely arraignment on the Class X felony charge that could land him in prison for six to 30 years if he is convicted.