The results of a grand jury investigation into the abduction and rape of a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl are expected to be disclosed Monday.
W. Fred Harrison, Jr., attorney for Christina Regusters, tells NBC10.com he expects the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to share its findings at a scheduled court appearance Monday afternoon.
Regusters, 19, was charged on February 14 with 15 crimes, including rape and kidnapping, in the January 14 abduction of a young girl from William C. Bryant Elementary in the Cobbs Creek section of Philadelphia.
Police say the girl was taken from her classroom and walked to a nearby home along the 6200 block of Walton Avenue. There, police say, the girl was blindfolded and sexually assaulted, causing severe bodily harm. She was found the next morning by a passer by at a playground in Upper Darby wearing only an oversized T-shirt.
DNA from that T-shirt has been the evidence investigators have used to charge Regusters. The teen worked at the after-school daycare the 5-year-old attended.
Regusters was arrested in February and has been held on $4 million bail. The teen was transferred from a Philadelphia prison to a facility in Northampton County after a jail assault.
Harrsion, Jr. says he was never told about that transfer until after it happened. He added that he expects his client to be in court on Monday.
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The attorney says he and his client have not been part of the secret grand jury convened in March, but says he’s prepared for any indictments that may come down. He says he expects to hear about them as soon as they’re announced to the court.
“My client maintains her innocence,” Harrison, Jr. said Saturday. He maintains there are others involved in the abduction.
So far Regusters has been the only person charged in the case, but attorneys for both the alleged doer and the victim feel there are others involved.
Tom Kline, who represents the 5-year-old and her family, has said the family believes Regusters did not act alone. He has urged Regusters to cooperate with the investigation.
"Please, for the sake of this little girl, see to it that everyone who either did horrible crimes or made mistakes comes forward or is held responsible,” he said.
Kline told NBC10.com Friday that the 5-year-old is continuing to recover, but has a long road ahead of her.
NBC10.com will be in court Monday for the proceedings.
