PHILADELPHIA – A woman charged with abducting a 5-year-old from a Philadelphia classroom and sexually assaulting the girl has rejected a plea offer.
Jury selection is underway Monday in the trial of 21-year-old Christina Regusters of Philadelphia.
She is the lone person charged in the case, although both the defense lawyer and the girl's family believe others were involved.
The young victim is expected to testify during the two-week trial.
Defense lawyer Fred Harrison says Regusters rejected a plea offer. He hopes that the trial testimony will provide new evidence.
Police say the girl was taken from her classroom in January 2013 by a woman posing as her mother, and was abandoned the next morning at a chilly playground.
The family has filed a lawsuit accusing the school district of "reckless indifference."
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