Trial delayed in Philadelphia kindergartner abduction, rape

Philadelphia, Pa.--The trial is being delayed for a woman charged with abducting a kindergartner from her Philadelphia classroom and sexually assaulting her, Associated Press reports.

Some of the jurors can no longer serve during the expected two-week trial of 21-year-old Christina Regusters, so opening statements were postponed Thursday.

Jury selection began on Monday.

Regusters is the lone person charged, though both her lawyer and the girl's family believe others were involved. Regusters worked at an after-school care program attended by the victim.

Police said in February that 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, CBS News reported in February.

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.

The shivering 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.

Attorney Tom Kline, who represents the girl and her mother, said in February that the girl suffered "terrible, horrible injuries."

The girl's family is suing the city over her injuries. She is now 7 and expected to testify next week.