NAILLA ROBINSON - 5 yo (1/2013)/ Charged: Christina Regusters - Philadelphia PA

5-Year-Old Girl Abducted From Philly School
Girl's mother says you can see a woman on video leaving the Cullen Bryant Elementary School on 60th and Cedar Avenue in the Cobbs Creek section of the city with her daughter

By David Chang
Monday, Jan 14, 2013
Updated 8:30 PM EST

A 5-year-old Philadelphia girl went missing after being abducted from her Cobbs Creek school Monday morning, according to Philadelphia Police.

Police say Nailla Robinson, who is about 40 inches tall and 35 pounds, went missing around 8:50 a.m. from the Cullen Bryant Elementary School on 60th and Cedar Avenue.

"Where is she, where could she be?" begged the girl's tearful mother Latifah Abdul-Rashid.

Nailla, a kindergartner at the school, was allegedly taken by a woman who claimed to be her mother. Police also say people didn't realize the girl was missing until later during the day since the students went on a field trip.

Nailla's family told NBC10's Denise Nakano that a woman was spotted on surveillance video telling school officials her name was "Tiffany," and that she needed to take her daughter to breakfast. The woman then allegedly signed Nailla out of the office and took her away.

Nailla's mother was in tears as she told NBC10 about finding out her daughter was missing.

"My daycare called me," said Abdul-Rashid. "(They) pick my child up, her and my son, and walks them to the daycare from the school around 3 o'clock. They asked me if Nailla had an early dismissal today. And, of course I said, 'no, she didn't.' She asked me about a woman named Tiffany and I immediately thought about my brother's friend. I called her and she was like, 'no, I'm in school. I didn't take Nailla.'"

Abdul-Rashid says there was confusion when she came to the school asking questions.

"I come straight to the school and they're all discombobulated. The substitute teacher, they're trying to get him on the phone. He finally gets here and he's like, 'her mom picked her up from school early. She said she was taking her to breakfast. I asked her to sign out but she said she already signed out at the office.'"

Abdul-Rashid also says the woman who abducted her daughter was dressed in traditional Muslim clothing.

"In the surveillance camera that the school has that I watched, she's dressed in traditional over-garment and Niqab," said Abdul-Rashid. "She has her face covered and only her eyes showing. She's wearing gloves. She's wearing all black. She has something white on her arm and she has a long black umbrella. The surveillance camera shows them walking through the hallway to get to the door. The next camera picks up and she's putting her umbrella up. Then they disappear."

The Philadelphia School District confirmed Abdul-Rashid's story and told NBC10 the following:

   Around 8:45 a.m. this morning a woman showed up at the school and was allowed to visit the child in the classroom, which is against protocol. The woman claimed to be the mother and took the child from the school. When the real mother showed up at 2:45 p.m., that is when they realized that the child was missing. There is surveillance video that shows the woman and child leaving. That is being handed over to Philadelphia Police.

An Amber Alert was issued around 8:30 p.m.

If you have any information on this incident, please call 911 or contact Philadelphia Police.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/5-Year-Old-Girl-Abducted-From-West-Philly-School-Cops-186865992.html

Nailla Robinson

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/01/14/amber-alert-issued-for-missing-5-year-old-girl-taken-from-west-philadelphia-school/

Nailla Robinson, Philadelphia girl, taken from school found outside city

January 15, 2013 9:01 AM

(AP) PHILADELPHIA -- A 5-year-old girl who was taken from a Philadelphia school was found safe Tuesday morning just outside the city, police said.

Upper Darby police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said a man walking down the street around 4:40 a.m. heard cries for help and found Nailla Robinson hiding under a jungle gym in a park, wearing only a T-shirt. She's been taken to the hospital to be checked out, Chitwood said, but is expected to be OK.

The investigation was continuing, Chitwood said, and police are continuing to search for the girl's abductor.

Police said Nailla Robinson was taken Monday morning from the Bryant School. Authorities released surveillance video showing a woman wearing a full-length, black Muslim garment, her face covered by a black veil, taking the girl out of the school. Lt. John Walker told the Philadelphia Daily News the woman introduced herself as "Tiffany," but her signature in the school visitor log was illegible.

Nailla's mother had appeared on local media Monday night, tearfully pleading for her safe return, and explaining how she also wears the traditional chador and niqab.

School district officials said that allowing the girl to leave school with an unknown adult was a "serious break in procedure." District spokesman Fernando Gallard said the woman didn't wait at the school's front office as is district policy but went to her classroom and told a teacher that the child had already been "checked out" of school.

Police discovered that the girl was missing later that afternoon, when a caretaker from the child's after-school program came to pick her up.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57564005-504083/nailla-robinson-philadelphia-girl-taken-from-school-found-outside-city/

5-Year-Old Found Safe Was Blindfolded by Abductor: Victim's Mom
Police say the girl was found safe by a passerby under a jungle gym along 69th Street.

By Kelly Bayliss
Tuesday, Jan 15, 2013
Updated 10:52 AM EST

The missing 5-year-old girl who was snatched from a Cobbs Creek school Monday was found safe in Delaware County overnight.

The victim was found on a playground on 69th Street by a good samaritan, wet, wearing only a T-shirt, according to Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood.

"This morning around 4:40 [a.m.] a fellow on his way to work heard screams for help, he was walking, he goes over to a playground area and finds a little girl hiding underneath the jungle gym," Chitwood told NBC10's Tim Furlong.

The man immediately called police.

Police tell NBC10 that she told them she was taken from school the day before and that she was cold and scared.

The little girl was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for a general evaluation.

"Although there were no overt physical signs of injury to this child, she was also, and is still being screened for sexual assault, given the condition under which she was found," said Philadelphia Police Captain and Commanding Officer of the Special Victims Unit John Darby.

Her mom, Latifah Abdur-Rashid, told NBC10's Claudia Rivero that her daughter told her that she was blindfolded during her abduction.

Now, police are looking for the person that took her from school Monday morning.

The victim, a kindergartner at the Cullen Byrant Elementary School on 60th and Cedar Avenue, was allegedly snatched from the school around 8:50 a.m. by a woman claiming to be her mother.

Police describe the woman as a black female in her 20s, between 5'5" and 5'6", who appeared to be pregnant. She was wearing Muslim garb.

The Philadelphia School District released a statement saying that the school didn't realize the girl was missing until the Abdur-Rashid, came to pick her up.

The young girl's family told NBC10 that surveillance video shows the woman, who gave the name "Tiffany," to school officials tell them that she needed to take her daughter to breakfast. Then "Tiffany" signed the girl out of school and walked away with her, according to the family.

"In the surveillance camera that the school has that I watched, she's dressed in traditional over-garment and Niqab," said Abdur-Rashid. "She has her face covered and only her eyes showing. She's wearing gloves. She's wearing all black. She has something white on her arm and she has a long black umbrella. The surveillance camera shows them walking through the hallway to get to the door. The next camera picks up and she's putting her umbrella up. Then they disappear."

“At this point we believe that the female who entered that school was a stranger, was absolutely unknown to this 5-year-old," Darby said.

The Fraternal Order of Police are offering a $5,000 reward for today only for the arrest of a suspect.

A $10,000 reward was offered on Monday night by Mayor Michael Nutter for information leading to the victim's return. No word on whether or not the good samaritan that found her will receive that money.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call police.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Missing-5-Year-Old-Found-Safe-in-Delco-186912431.html

Father Questioned in 5-Year-Old's Abduction
NBC10 News learned police questioned the father of a five-year-old girl who was abducted from her school on Monday

By Kelly Bayliss and David Chang
Thursday, Jan 17, 2013
Updated 6:52 AM EST

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

NBC10 learned that on Wednesday night Philadelphia police questioned the father of a five-year-old girl who was abducted from her school on Monday. She was found alive Tuesday morning, by a man police called a hero for his actions.

"They wanted me here for a second interview, that's it, just to make sure my story is consistent," Terry Robinson told NBC10's Daralene Jones in an exclusive interview.

Robinson said his daughter is recovering "and I'm working to recover myself and so is the family. It's a hard process, knowing that the person who committed this act to my child is still out there."

He said he had no idea who is behind the abduction, but "they wouldn't have brought me down for a second interview if things weren't working themselves out."

"I'm standing here saying my son is a good son," Terry Robinson's mother told us earlier in the night. "Right now, my son feels lost, helpless, because he couldn't help his daughter."

The Special Victims Unit announced Wednesday that they are searching for a man and a woman they believe had something to do with the crime.

One of the suspects, according to police, is the woman that went to Cullen Byrant Elementary on 60th and Cedar Avenue and signed the kindergartner out of school around 8:50 a.m. on Monday.

The woman claimed to be the 5-year-old's mother to school employees. She told them that she had to take her daughter to breakfast and was allowed to take the child from the school, the family told NBC10.

Authorities describe the suspect as a dark-skinned black woman in her 20s, standing 5-foot-8, wearing Muslim garb, who may have been pregnant. They also believe she has green or light eyes and may go by the name "Rashida."

They say that the suspect and victim walked away from the school and met with a man several blocks away at a nearby home.

That man, Police Captain John Darby says, is now a suspect.

He is described as a light-skinned, possibly white male, in his late 30s, with short, brown hair. He was last seen wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved blue T-shirt. Police also say there may have been other adults involved.

Authorities believe the child was taken to a home not far from the school. They have narrowed the area down to a four-block radius with the school being the central point. That area is Spruce to Christian Street and 56th Street to Cobbs Creek Parkway. They are now going door to door with a description of the alleged abductors.

While in captivity, the victim was blindfolded and told to undress, according to police. She was given an adult T-shirt and at one point, was made to hide underneath a bed, Darby announced in Tuesday's press release.

Police believe the victim was targeted and say she was asked for by name at the school.

The girl, who was found on a 69th Street playground by good Samaritan Nelson Mandela Myers, was missing for less than 24 hours.

Sources tell NBC10 the child was kept in a home overnight and that other children were also inside the home.

"Based on the evidence given to us, this little girl suffered conditions that no child should endure," said Captain Darby during the press conference.

"She's traumatized," said the victim's grandfather Asim Abdur-Rashid. "She's 5 years old and she's been out all night. She's been away from her mother, sisters and brothers and she's traumatized."

Detectives spent about 15 minutes inside the family's home Wednesday afternoon. Sources tell NBC10 they took the girl back to the playground on 69th Street where she was found. Detectives are hoping she can remember any detail that will help them figure out who abducted her. The girl returned home late Wednesday afternoon. Relatives of the girl tell NBC10 everyone is hoping that the person or people who abducted her are caught soon.

The Fraternal Order of Police is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The Citizen Crime Commission is offering an additional $5000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

If you have any information on this incident, please call the Philadelphia Police.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/2-Women-Among-Suspects-Sought-in-Abduction-of-5-Year-Old-187113671.html

Kidnapped Philadelphia girl's shirt sent for DNA testing
Updated at 02:11 PM today



WEST PHILADELPHIA - January 17, 2013 (WPVI) -- The 5-year-old girl who was kidnapped from a West Philadelphia school on Monday was found at a playground in Upper Darby early the next morning wearing only a t-shirt. Now, Action News has learned, investigators have sent that t-shirt out for DNA testing.

It's the latest development in the case that has produced many questions but few answers.

On Wednesday night, the father of the girl was questioned by police. Action News was there as he was released from the Special Victims Unit after more than two hours of questioning.

Although police have previously stated he passed a lie detector test and is not a suspect, sources say detectives confiscated his cell phone and were seeking a search warrant to go through the device.

Meanwhile, the search continues for two suspects, a man and a woman, in connection with the girl's kidnapping.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Captain John Darby released detailed descriptions of the man and woman police are searching for, described the block-by-block search underway for both of them, and updated the amount of reward money being offered.

The woman being sought is the same woman seen in surveillance video leaving Bryant Elementary School with the child on Monday.

WATCH:Surveillance video from the school

She has been described as a dark-skinned black woman in her late 20s, standing 5' 5" to 5' 8" tall, with a thin build and possibly pregnant. Police now say she told the child her name was "Rashida."

Investigators say after that woman left the school she walked the child several blocks to a home in West Philadelphia, where the two were joined by a man.

That man is described as a light-skinned, possibly white, man in his mid-thirties with short brown hair. The girl told police he was wearing sweat pants and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt.

Police say he joined the woman in restraining the girl at the residence. Earlier reports said the girl was blindfolded by her captors.

Darby said police are now conducting an intensive manhunt in a several-block area surrounding Bryant Elementary School. He said uniformed officers are being joined by cadets from the Philadelphia Police Academy in canvassing the area, going door-to-door and handing out flyers with descriptions of the suspects.

"We are asking every resident to take another look," Darby said.

The targeted area is bounded by Spruce Street and Christian Street on the north and south, and 50th Street and Cobbs Creek Parkway on the east and west.

In addition, Darby said two rewards are now being offered in the case: $5,000 from the Fraternal Order of Police for the arrest of one or both offenders; and $5,000 from the Citizens Crime Commission for the arrest and conviction of one or both offenders.

Action News has also learned that police believe a second woman became involved in the case when she rescued the girl from that home in West Philadelphia and dropped her off at a playground in Upper Darby, where she was eventually found.

No further information about that second woman has been released.

Wednesday's news conference came after a dramatic series of developments that began when the girl first went missing Monday morning after her mother dropped her off at Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia. That was at 8:45 a.m.

Police say minutes later, a woman dressed in Muslim garb, which only showed her eyes, signed in with the name "Tiffany."

The woman was told to go to the school's office, but police say she went to the girl's classroom instead - telling the substitute teacher on duty she was the girl's mother and that was taking her to breakfast.

When the substitute teacher challenged her, police say the woman got indignant, saying, "I signed what I was supposed to sign, I've got other appointments and I do not need to put up with your nonsense."

That woman was seen on surveillance video walking with the girl from her classroom at about 8:50 a.m.

Investigators said that this did not appear to be a random act, but rather the girl was targeted, noting that the woman knew where to go and asked for the girl by name.

Authorities say when someone from the girl's daycare arrived to pick her up at 3:00 p.m., they finally realized something was wrong. An Amber Alert was then issued for the girl on Monday evening.

She was found by a passerby named Nelson Mandela Myers at 4:40 a.m. Tuesday at a playground in Upper Darby, Delaware County - 1.5 miles away from Bryant Elementary School.

She was crying, wet, and wearing only a t-shirt.

Upper Darby police say Myers was on his way to work when he heard the girl's cries Tuesday morning and found her under a playground sliding board near 69th Street and Marshall Road, cold and upset.

On Tuesday night, Mayor Michael Nutter announced Myers would receive the $10,000 reward that was being offered for information leading to the girl's return.

Once found, the girl was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she was evaluated, reunited with her mother, and released.

The child has had some preliminary interviews after being released from the hospital.

Police, covering all bases in this investigation, conducted a lie detector test on the girl's father. He passed. After being released from the hospital, the girl was carried home in her mother's arms and surrounded by detectives.

"[I'm] very relieved," the mother said as she walked inside the home with her daughter.

Meantime, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia School District admitted that Bryant Elementary did not follow proper protocol for school visitors.

The superintendent points to breaches in security protocol and has taken action.

The non-teaching assistant, or NTA, has been removed from the security desk. That's the person who authorities say allowed the kidnapper to retrieve the child from the classroom without going through the office.

The district will also not assign classes to the substitute teacher from the child's classroom pending the outcome of the investigation.

The district says school personnel are required to go through annual safety training, but the teachers' union questions whether the substitute had proper instruction.

"We are not going to let any of our members be railroaded," said teachers' union president Jerry Jordan. "I can't imagine that the substitute teacher knew the protocol for early dismissal from school. I find that hard to believe."

(Copyright ©2013 WPVI-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=8957559

View classic version | View full site


NEWS
Father's 5 girlfriends questioned in daughter's abduction
Page 1 of 3
Story posted 2013.01.17 at 07:05 PM EST

As detectives continue to investigate the abduction of a 5-year-old girl, the school district is instituting new measures to make sure there are no further security breaches.
PHOTOS: WEBSITE or iPAD | WIRELESS
As the investigation continued, five girlfriends of the victim's father were brought into police headquarters for questioning Thursday.
This comes a day after the father was questioned. He was released from the Special Victims Unit after more than two hours of questioning Wednesday night.
Although police have previously stated he passed a lie detector test and is not a suspect, sources said yesterday detectives confiscated his cell phone.
Meanwhile, Action News has learned investigators have sent the t-shirt his daughter was wearing when she was discovered out for DNA testing.
Also on Thursday, angry parents came to the Bryant School where the abduction took place, to talk with school officials about the 5-year-old student who was taken right from her classroom.
"This shouldn't just be for today. Every day when you ring that doorbell you should ID that person. Every day. You can't just let anyone walk in there," parent A'Lyca Doe said.
Earlier in the week, Philadelphia School District spokesman Fernando Gallard admitted that Bryant Elementary did not follow proper protocol for school visitors.
On Thursday, he repeated his sentiment to parents.
"They did not do their job. Protocol was not followed. It's not a difficult protocol. The ball was dropped and that's why we had a breach in security. That's how we had a student who was put in danger," Gallard said.
The district met with parents at the school looking for feedback to make the school safer.
The district will implement a new safety plan, making sure all faculty and staff know correct protocol, as well as have radios to communicate.
There will also be a person by the door for security.
"We're going to be checking to make sure those protocols are followed," Gallard said.
These are the latest development in the kidnapping case that has produced many questions but few answers.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Philadelphia Police Captain John Darby released detailed descriptions of the male and female suspects police are searching for, described the block-by-block search underway for both of them, and updated the amount of reward money being offered.
The woman being sought is the same woman seen in surveillance video leaving Bryant Elementary School with the child on Monday.
WATCH:Surveillance video from the school
She has been described as a dark-skinned black woman in her late 20s, standing 5' 5" to 5' 8" tall, with a thin build and possibly pregnant. Police now say she told the child her name was "Rashida."


Investigators say after that woman left the school she walked the child several blocks to a home in West Philadelphia, where the two were joined by a man.
That man is described as a light-skinned, possibly white, man in his mid-thirties with short brown hair. The girl told police he was wearing sweat pants and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt.
Police say he joined the woman in restraining the girl at the residence. Earlier reports said the girl was blindfolded by her captors.
Darby said police are now conducting an intensive manhunt in a several-block area surrounding Bryant Elementary School. He said uniformed officers are being joined by cadets from the Philadelphia Police Academy in canvassing the area, going door-to-door and handing out flyers with descriptions of the suspects.
"We are asking every resident to take another look," Darby said.
The targeted area is bounded by Spruce Street and Christian Street on the north and south, and 50th Street and Cobbs Creek Parkway on the east and west.
In addition, Darby said two rewards are now being offered in the case: $5,000 from the Fraternal Order of Police for the arrest of one or both offenders; and $5,000 from the Citizens Crime Commission for the arrest and conviction of one or both offenders.
Action News has also learned that police believe a second woman became involved in the case when she rescued the girl from that home in West Philadelphia and dropped her off at a playground in Upper Darby, where she was eventually found.
No further information about that second woman has been released.
Wednesday's news conference came after a dramatic series of developments that began when the girl first went missing Monday morning after her mother dropped her off at Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia. That was at 8:45 a.m.
Police say minutes later, a woman dressed in Muslim garb, which only showed her eyes, signed in with the name "Tiffany."
The woman was told to go to the school's office, but police say she went to the girl's classroom instead - telling the substitute teacher on duty she was the girl's mother and that was taking her to breakfast.
When the substitute teacher challenged her, police say the woman got indignant, saying, "I signed what I was supposed to sign, I've got other appointments and I do not need to put up with your nonsense."
That woman was seen on surveillance video walking with the girl from her classroom at about 8:50 a.m.
Investigators said that this did not appear to be a random act, but rather the girl was targeted, noting that the woman knew where to go and asked for the girl by name.
Authorities say when someone from the girl's daycare arrived to pick her up at 3:00 p.m., they finally realized something was wrong. An Amber Alert was then issued for the girl on Monday evening.
She was found by a passerby named Nelson Mandela Myers at 4:40 a.m. Tuesday at a playground in Upper Darby, Delaware County - 1.5 miles away from Bryant Elementary School.
She was crying, wet, and wearing only a t-shirt.
Upper Darby police say Myers was on his way to work when he heard the girl's cries Tuesday morning and found her under a playground sliding board near 69th Street and Marshall Road, cold and upset.
On Tuesday night, Mayor Michael Nutter announced Myers would receive the $10,000 reward that was being offered for information leading to the girl's return.
Once found, the girl was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where she was evaluated, reunited with her mother, and released.
The child has had some preliminary interviews after being released from the hospital.
After being released from the hospital, the girl was carried home in her mother's arms and surrounded by detectives.
"[I'm] very relieved," the mother said as she walked inside the home with her daughter.
Meantime, the non-teaching assistant, or NTA, has been removed from the security desk where the female suspect signed in. The NTA has been placed in a different position.
The district will also not assign classes to the substitute teacher from the child's classroom pending the outcome of the investigation.
The district says school personnel are required to go through annual safety training, but the teachers' union questions whether the substitute had proper instruction.
"We are not going to let any of our members be railroaded," said teachers' union president Jerry Jordan. "I can't imagine that the substitute teacher knew the protocol for early dismissal from school. I find that hard to believe."

6abc.com wireless Home | View full site
All material © 2013 WPVI-TV, Inc. & 2004-2013 LSN, Inc. All Rights Reserved
View classic version | View full site
Font Size: S M L

I'm so thankful she was found alive. All I could think of was Tori Stafford's story (GB) and the horror she experienced before being killed. It is horrifying to think that a school would release a child without checking a photo ID.

Source: Kidnapped girl's mom takes lie detector test
- view video -
Source: Kidnapped girl's mom takes lie detector test
Video updated on: 2013.01.23 at 05:34 PM EST
Story posted 2013.01.23 at 05:34 PM EST

Police sources tell Action News that the mom of a 5-year-old girl, who was kidnapped from a West Philadelphia school last week, has taken a lie detector test.
Those sources said she was also re-interviewed by police on Tuesday. Investigators are still awaiting the results of that lie detector test.
The girl's mother has hired legal counsel, Tom Kline, who represented a victim in the Jerry Sandusky trial.
Action News is no longer naming those involved in this case to protect the girl's identity.
Last Thursday, five girlfriends of the victim's father were brought into police headquarters for questioning - a day after the father was questioned. Although police have previously stated he passed a lie detector test and is not a suspect, sources say detectives confiscated his cell phone.
This comes as the reward for information leading to an arrest has jumped to $20,000. That includes $10,000 raised by the Philadelphia NAACP, Black Clergy, and other African American leaders and $10,000 posted by the Fraternal Order of Police and the Citizens Crime Commission.
The little girl was taken from her classroom at Bryant Elementary school by an unknown woman. That woman, who was caught on surveillance video, signed in and went to the girl's classroom. There, she told the substitute teacher she was the girl's mother and said she was taking her to breakfast.
WATCH: Surveillance video from the school
When the substitute teacher challenged her, police say the woman got indignant, saying, "I signed what I was supposed to sign, I've got other appointments and I do not need to put up with your nonsense."
Investigators say after that woman left the school she walked the child several blocks to a home in West Philadelphia, where the two were joined by a man.
The girl was restrained there, police say, until another woman helped her get out of the house.
A passerby found the girl the next morning at a playground in Upper Darby. She was wearing only a t-shirt.
The woman being sought has been described as a dark-skinned black woman in her late 20s, standing 5' 5" to 5' 8" tall, with a thin build and possibly pregnant. Police say she told the child her name was Rashida.
The man being sought is described as a light-skinned, possibly white, man in his mid-thirties with short brown hair. The girl told police he was wearing sweat pants and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt.
Anyone with information is asked to call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS (8477) , send a text message to PPD TIP (773847) or send a tip through phillypolice.com .

Police Search Cobbs Creek Home in Abducted Girl Investigation
Investigators walked the girl through the area and she apparently recognized an alley from the day she was abducted

By Danielle Johnson
Friday, Feb 8, 2013
Updated 1:30 PM EST

Philadelphia Police searched a Cobbs Creek home today in connection to the case of a kidnapped 5-year-old girl.

NBC10 has learned that investigators took the little girl to the West Philadelphia neighborhood Thursday with her mother after receiving several tip calls. Investigators walked the girl through the area and she apparently recognized an alley from the day she was abducted.

A forensic crime unit took pictures inside and outside of the home, according to investigators. Police questioned one person inside the residence. The home, right off Cobbs Creek Parkway, is located near a trail the leads straight to the Upper Darby playground where the little girl was found after she was abducted last month.

NBC10's Tim Furlong spoke with the little girl's grandfather this morning. Abdur-Rashid says he believe there will be an arrest in the case soon. During an exclusive interview last week, Rashid said the unsolved crime was a random act of violence.

"We believe it was a random act of a pervert sending someone who they had control over to go to a public school, kindergarten class, and take out a young girl who he could take out his perversion on, said Rashid. “We appreciate the fact that the police are leaving no stone unturned."

Police say there were a combination of factors that led them to the home but will not reveal what they are at this time, according to NBC10's Tim Furlong.

The 5-year-old was abducted on Jan. 14 from the Cullen Bryant Elementary School on 60th and Cedar Avenue. Police say a woman wearing Muslim garb, and apparently pregnant, was seen on surveillance video taking the girl out of the school.

Police say the woman and another man allegedly took the girl to a home nearby, forced her to undress, blindfolded her and eventually dropped her off in an Upper Darby park on a cold night. She was found by a good Samaritan named Nelson Mandela Myers less than 24 hours later, shivering and wearing only a t-shirt.

On Jan 15, police served search warrants at the homes of registered sex offenders living in Cobbs Creek. So far, police say no one has been taken into custody. The reward for the arrest of the kidnapper (s) is currently at $105,000.

Police have received more than 200 tips in the case.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Cobbs-Creek-Home-Searched-in-Abduction-Investigation-190345451.html

19-year-old charged in girl's kidnapping from West Phila. school
- view video -
19-year-old woman charged in kidnapping case
Video updated on: 2013.02.15 at 05:36 AM EST
Story posted 2013.02.15 at 06:30 AM EST

Police have charged a 19-year-old woman in connection with the abduction of a 5-year-old girl from a West Philadelphia school in January.
19-year-old Christina Regusters of the 6200 block of Walton Avenue is charged with kidnapping, criminal conspiracy, rape, aggravated assault, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, unlawful restraint, contact with a minor, false imprisonment, interference with the custody of a child, indecent assault, concealing the whereabouts of a child, simple assault, corruption of minors, and recklessly endangering another person.
14 crimes in all and 11 of which are felonies.
"This is the only arrest at this time. The investigation is very much active and ongoing by members of the Special Victims Unit," Philadelphia Police Captain John Darby said at a news conference Thursday night.
Sources tell Action News that Regusters was the woman seen on school surveillance video wearing the Muslim garb.
Sources also say detectives got a match with DNA taken from the victim's shirt.
When asked about the DNA, Captain Darby responded by saying, "I can't relate specifically as it responds to physical evidence."
Darby did confirm reports that Regusters worked at the daycare the victim attended after school.
"There had been contact there, in fact she did work at that location and did have contact with the little girl, prior," Darby said.
Late Thursday, Special Victims investigators continued to gather evidence from Regusters' row home on Walton Avenue.
After detectives secured a warrant to comb through the home, they had animal control confiscate a bird, a macaw, now believed to be a crucial piece of evidence.
Sources say the child had told police there was a bird in the home and that she was told by her abductors that if she didn't do as she was told, the bird would peck her eyes out.
Earlier in the day, police took Christina Regusters and three others - a man, a woman, and a teenage boy - into custody for questioning.
"At this point we have no charges [for the three]. There were two adults, an adult male, an adult female, and a juvenile, here at Special Victims Unit again tonight being questioned; at this particular time, the charges that I have listed are only as they apply to Ms. Regusters," Darby said.
Police sources tell Action News that they believe the adult male is the girl's attacker.
The teenage boy is believed to be a material witness.
The group was initially questioned last week after the victim was able to identify the back of the home.
"I've said this several times, she's been a trooper. A very brave little girl," Darby said.
The house is located about half a block from Cobbs Creek Park. On the other side of the park is Upper Darby, where the girl was found.
As far as Regusters being the person who dropped the 5-year-old off at the park, Darby would only say, "I think the charges speak for themselves. I can't go further than that at this particular time. The investigation is ongoing so we don't want to jeopardize that."
High power civil attorney Tom Kline, who represents the victim, spoke with Action News.
"Her mom told me she is anxious and awaiting the police to inform her further as to what happens here and what is going to happen next in terms of formal charges, in terms of bringing the people who did this horrible deed to her little girl to justice," Kline said.
The 5-year-old girl was kidnapped from the Bryant Elementary School at 60th and Cedar Avenue.
The girl was found in an Upper Darby playground early the next morning and returned to her mother.
An $80,000 reward has been posted by the Citizens Crime Commission for the capture of the kidnappers. The community of local Muslims says it is putting up at least $20,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
There is no word at this time if anyone is eligible to collect any of the reward money.

Story posted 2013.02.15 at 06:30 AM EST

Little Nailla is her own hero. What a strong and brave little girl.

February 15, 2013 10:28 AM
Philadelphia Child Kidnapping: Teen daycare worker charged in abduction, rape of 5-year-old girl

A Philadelphia women was arrested after a 5-year-old girl aided police in locating the home where she was kidnapped

(CBS/AP) PHILADELPHIA - A 19-year-old daycare worker was charged
Thursday in the abduction of a 5-year-old girl who was taken from her
school last month. Authorities said the arrest happened after the girl
aided police in locating the Philadelphia home where she was taken.
Christina
Regusters was charged with kidnapping, conspiracy, aggravated assault,
rape, and other offenses, said Special Victims Unit Capt. John Darby.
She was one of four people questioned Thursday who live in a home
several blocks from Bryant Elementary School in west Philadelphia where
the victim attended school. The other three were released.
Darby
said Regusters worked at an after-school care program attended by the
victim, who was taken out of her classroom on Jan. 14 by a woman posing
as her mother. The child was found early the next morning at a
playground about a mile away, wearing only a T-shirt. Police took the
girl to places around the neighborhood as they searched for clues.
"The investigation is very much active and ongoing," Darby said at a news conference Thursday.
Attorney
Tom Kline, who represents the girl and her mother, said the child told
police there was some sort of talking bird at the place where she was
taken after she was abducted, information that helped lead police to the
home.
"This brave, innocent precious little girl was
instrumental in leading police literally to the door of the crime,"
Kline said in an interview Friday. "She told them that there was a bird
in the house. The bird became one of the many focal points of the
investigation."
Officials said a woman wearing a black Muslim
garment with her face covered by a veil posed as the girl's mother and
took her out of class last month. The victim's mother wears the
traditional chador and niqab.
Investigators believe the suspect
and victim walked a few blocks to a home where a man was waiting. The
child was blindfolded, told to remove her clothes and put on a black,
adult-sized T-shirt, and then ordered to hide under a bed, authorities
said. She was apparently dumped about 18 hours later at a park about a
mile from her school, just outside the city, and was found by a
passer-by, shivering under playground equipment.
When she was found, the girl told her rescuer, "I've been stolen."
Kline
said the girl suffered "terrible, horrible injuries" and that the
family was "grateful" for the arrest, but knows it isn't the end of the
line.
"There is still more work to be done," he said, adding that
there were clearly additional people involved. "We are watching
anxiously the next developments because this is not the end of the
line."
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Child Kidnapping Case on Crimesider
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57569596-504083/philadelphia-child-kidnapping-teen-daycare-worker-charged-in-abduction-rape-of-5-year-old-girl/

Regusters Indicted in 5-Year-Old Girl's Abduction, Rape

A grand jury came back with an indictment today against one person only in the Cobbs Creek abduction case

Monday, Apr 29, 2013


NBC10.com

Christina Regusters, 19, was the only person indicted today in the abduction and sex assault case of a five-year-old girl in January.

Christina Regusters, the woman charged in the abduction and rape of a 5-year-old Philadelphia girl, was indicted by a
grand jury today.

Despite claims by both her attorney and the victim's attorney that other people were involved, the grand jury came back with indictments only against Regusters.

The 20-year-old was indicted on 11 counts including two counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a child with serious bodily injury, aggravated assault, kidnapping, corruption of a minor and unlawful restraint of a minor.

Regusters was previously charged with 15 crimes. She was not indicted on several of the most heinous charges including forceable rape and possession of an instrument of crime.

Regusters, who turned twenty behind bars last week, was not at her status hearing this afternoon, in which the prosecution handed down the indictments. Her attorney, W. Fred Harrison, Jr., said he expected the charges. He also said that although his client may have been involved in the case in some way, she was not involved to the degree the prosecution alleges.

"I certainly don't think my client is a major participant in this affair," Harrison, Jr. said. "I think there are others who are far more responsible and I think they'll come out at some point during these proceedings."

Regusters remains the sole person charged in the January 14 kidnapping of the kindergartner from her Cobbs Creek school, William C. Bryant Elementary.

Police allege the teen dressed in a Muslim hijab, a traditional head covering, to appear as the girl’s mother.

Regusters allegedly gained access to the girl’s classroom, took her from school and walked her to a nearby home along the 6200 block of Walton Avenue. At the home, investigators say, the girl was sexually assaulted.

The girl’s family has said the victim suffered severe bodily harm and needed more than one surgery to repair the damage. The 5-year-old was found a day later at an Upper Darby playground by a passerby. She was wearing only an over-sized T-shirt.

Investigators have used DNA on that T-shirt to tie Regusters to the alleged crimes. She was arrested a month after the abduction on February 14 and charged.

Police say Regusters worked at the same after school daycare the girl attended.

Harrison, Jr. says he does not believe it was his client who was caught on surveillance images leading the child out of the school. He also says Regusters would never have sexually assaulted the 5-year-old, calling those alleged actions "out of character" for his client.

"She feels that this little girl should not have been subjected to that kind of treatment," he said.

Harrison, Jr. cites Regusters history as a sexual abuse victim as the reason she would not commit those crimes.

Regusters remains held on $4 million bail. After threats and an assault in the Philadelphia prison system, she was moved and is being housed in a Northampton County prison.

A formal arraignment is scheduled for May 20.

The Grand Jury

The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office convened a grand jury in the case after requesting a continuance from the court at a preliminary hearing in March.

An indicting grand jury, as it's called, gives prosecutors the ability to gather evidence and interview witnesses under oath in complete secrecy. Based on the evidence gathered, indictments can then be handed down.

Edward Ohlbaum, a law professor at Temple University and former public defender, says while calling a grand jury after a person has been formally charged is not typical, it can happen. In this case, Regusters had already been charged by the District Attorney's office.

"A grand jury system is invariably much more efficient," he said. "Not only is there considerations of witness intimidation...it also cuts down on time."

Ohlbaum says the district attorney may have also wanted to spare witnesses, like the 5-year-old, from having to testify in court.

"Perhaps in this case, they didn't want to subject the witnesses to cross-examination, not subject them to the press surrounding the case," he said.

Asked why the DA may not have indicted Regusters on all of the crimes she was originally charged with, Ohlbaum says it comes down to evidence -- or a lack thereof.

"Often when a prosecutor asks for indictments, but not all of the counts, the heavy bet is that there was the evidence was not sufficient to proceed."

Grand juries can be powerful tools for the DA to uncover other participants in the case.

Both Regusters' attorney and the victim's counsel and family have said there were others involved in the child's assault and kidnapping. However, only Regusters was indicted at Monday's proceedings. Ohlbaum says that doesn't mean investigators are not pursuing others in the case.

"It may mean at this point, that the prosecutors don't have the evidence," he said. "Or they don't want to release that evidence at that time."

He says the grand jury can be reconvened and the prosecution can issue new indictments as the evidence warrants.

The results of the Regusters grand jury investigation are not expected to be fully released for some time.

Harrison, Jr. tells NBC10.com some information will be released at the formal arraignment next month. Then more findings will be released at another hearing weeks later. The prosecution only has to release the full findings 60 days before the trial start date, which has yet to be scheduled.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Abduction-Rape-girl-Regusters-hearing-grand-jury-indictment-205218601.html

7-Year-Old Kidnapping Victim Faces Alleged Rapist in Court

By Sarah Glover
hursday, Aug 28, 2014
Updated at 3:41 PM EDT

Dressed in a pink sweater, lime green skirt and looking more mature than her 7 years, a Philadelphia girl who was abducted last year from her kindergarten and raped repeatedly testified Wednesday in a hushed courtroom about her 19-hour ordeal.

From the witness stand, the child avoided making eye contact with her alleged rapist and kidnapper, 21-year-old Christina Regusters, who worked in the daycare at Bryant Elementary School.

The child, who was five at the time of the attack, testified that she left school with a stranger on Jan. 13, 2013, because she thought the woman was her mom.

“I thought it was my mom,” the victim said, because the kidnapper was dressed in Muslim garb and wearing a veil.
The child testified that after they left the school, the woman told her to throw her book bag in the trash as they walked down the street. The child said when they reached the home, she realized the woman was not her mom because she was no longer wearing the veil.

The girl said she was placed in a laundry bag and carried into the house, blindfolded, put in a closet and then hidden naked underneath a bed. She said a woman, a teen and a "bad man" were at the house. She was shown pictures of that man on a phone, she said.

Prosecutors, however, believe Regusters acted alone. The defense has argued that police have the wrong suspect.

Prosecutor Erin O'Brien asked the child if she had ever seen or smelled a boy in the house. The child answered no. She said she was shown a photo of white man on a cell phone, and was told by a girl named China that he was in the house.

During the testimony, O’Brien pulled up a chair next to the witness stand to question the child, who was polite, composed and gave “Yes” or “No” answers to many of the questions. When asked about details of the attack, she often said, “I don’t remember.” Regusters rarely looked up at the child.

Jurors got more details from one-on-one conversations between the victim and her mother that the mother recorded on her iPhone in the days and weeks following the attack.

On the recordings, she is heard reassuring her daughter, whom she called "Pooh." In one conversation, her daughter said she wished she had an iPhone to take a photo of the captor's house. "Don't get upset," her mother said. "You remember so much. You are telling me so many things. We are going to find these dang-gone people." The mother took those recordings to police.

The victim's mother also took the stand earlier in the day with emotional testimony and pictures. She described how the attack changed her daughter's life forever.

The victim has undergone reconstructive surgeries and wore a colostomy bag for months following the vicious attack.
She's doing much better and is a happy child, the girl's mother said.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/5-Year-Old-Kidnap-Victim-Girl-Faces-Alleged-Rapist-Regusters-Court-Cobbs-Creek-272928151.html#ixzz3BnJ8z39z