STEPDAD'S ARREST SNAGS GIRL'S INHERITED CAR

Cops Take Escort When 10-Year-Old's Stepdad Is Charged

DEARBORN -- A 10-year-old girl who inherited a car may lose it because her
stepfather was charged with soliciting a prostitute.

But the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said it wants to ensure that the
girl's interests are represented and is waiting for answers to lots of
questions from her attorney, Majed Moughini.

"Our interest is making sure this girl's property is protected. The first
hurdle is simply getting all the information," said Maria Lopez, chief of
the Wayne County prosecutor's forfeiture office. "Was he entitled to drive
the car? Would he be driving it again if we release it?"

Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Sapala has set a hearing for Sept. 19 if
the matter isn't resolved before then.

Leah Eddington of Dearborn inherited the 1992 Ford Escort from her father,
who died of cancer in 1998, Moughini said. It was the only thing she
inherited from her father.

Shortly after midnight on Aug. 15, the car was seized by Detroit police
near Woodward and King when her stepfather was cited for soliciting a
prostitute. Moughini said it was a case of the stepfather picking up
someone he knew after dropping off his taxes at the U.S. Post Office in
downtown Detroit.

"It's not a crime to give a prostitute a ride -- even prostitutes have
rights," Moughini said. Moughini said Leah and her mother don't have the
money to pay the $900 fine, nor several hundred dollars more in towing and
storage fees.

In most cases, if the car is driven with permission by a relative or
friend, then the driver, not the vehicle's owner, would be responsible for
the fine. But the fine still would have to be paid before the car was
released to the registered owner.

To date, more than 7,000 cars have been seized by police across Wayne
County, said Rob Spada, deputy chief of the forfeiture unit. Most of the
cars have been seized in Detroit. The operations have netted more than $6.3
million, with the prosecutor's office splitting the money with local police
departments.

In July, Moughini filed suit in U.S. District Court against the cities of
Detroit and Inkster and Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan on behalf of
10 people who lost cars in prostitution stings since January. No court date
has been set in that suit.

Moughini lost a separate suit to reclaim his own car after it was seized
during a sting in which his brother-in-law was cited for soliciting a
prostitute.