Family of Young Kidnap Victim Plans to Sue Phila. School District
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia woman charged with the January abduction and rape of a five-year-old girl from Bryant Elementary School was formally arraigned today.
And as the criminal prosecution proceeds, a civil lawsuit is in the wings.
Twenty-year-old Christina Regusters is the only person charged with the kidnapping (see related story), but Thomas Kline, the attorney for the victim and her mother, says that based on his knowledge of the case, he's convinced there were others involved.
"We are very hopeful that the district attorney's office, the Philadelphia police department, and the FBI are still actively pursuing all of those leads," he said today. "We believe full justice here will not be achieved until every person who was involved is brought to justice."
The DA's office declined to comment.
Kline also wants civil damages in the case. He says he has notified the School District of Philadelphia that he intends to sue them for allowing the victim to leave the school, allegedly with Regusters posing as her mother (see related story).
The kindergartener was found the next day, shivering in only a t-shirt, in a nearby playground (see related stories).
