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Feds, Mint Hill police quietly keep $69,000 in seized cash, sex abuse victim loses out

A decision by the Mint Hill Police Department to seize a man’s money means a child victim of sex abuse won’t get the $69,000 a judge ordered the agency to turn over.

Nate Morabito (WCNC)

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Published: 3:20 PM EDT October 2, 2023
Updated: 1:07 PM EDT October 12, 2023

He secretly took her innocence. Police quietly took his money. Prosecutors eventually took his freedom.

The sex offender is now serving time in prison for taking indecent liberties with a child, but his victim says she can't move on.

Now 17, the high school senior is waiting for the Mint Hill Police Department to comply with a court order and turn over the $69,130 officers seized from her abuser. The department refuses.

"I've been dealing with this since I was 5 years old and I'm almost 18 and I just want to move on to the next chapter of my life," the teen said while holding her mother's hand. "That money was going to help me do it and without it, it just feels like three steps back. It's honestly so frustrating and difficult."

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