The 3 1/2-year-old daughter of a deported German citizen who faces criminal abuse and neglect charges in Nevada, will remain in the custody of Clark County Family Services for now.

Alternate Hearing Master Thomas Kurtz decided on Wednesday to keep the daughter of Samaneh Rezaei in the custody of family services after weighing arguments from three sets of attorneys in Clark County Family Court.

Steve Hiltz, a lawyer with the Children's Attorney Project appointed to represent the battered girl, said the child is best served by remaining in the care of her foster parents. The child requires ongoing and extensive medical care for the near-fatal head trauma she sustained in August, Hiltz said, and she is getting counseling on a weekly basis.

Hiltz said the girl is learning English and has bonded with her caregivers. He also told Kurtz the girl becomes fearful when asked about her mother.

"What is her reaction when somebody brings up her mother?" Hiltz said. "It's negative. She calls her bad mommy."

The abuse and neglect charges Rezaei faced before being deported for overstaying her visa stem from injuries suffered by her daughter during a summer stay in Las Vegas with her boyfriend Arash Hashemi. Hashemi, a Clark County resident, has been notified by the District Attorney's office that he faces the prospect of a grand jury indictment for the harm done to Rezaei's child.

Over a two-month period, police reports show that the small girl sustained an escalating series of injuries that included bite marks, facial bruising, a broken arm and a missing fingernail. The girl's head had also been shaved. In August, the girl was taken to Summerlin Hospital where her mother told staff that the child had fallen down the stairs. Medical experts said the head injuries, which required emergency surgery, were not consistent with a fall.

Joseph Sciscento, legal counsel for Rezaei who will be tried in absentia, argued that it's not proper for the family court to retain custody of a German national. The girl's aunt is willing to care for her, Sciscento said. Custody of the child should be turned over to the German courts, Sciscento said.

"My concern is that the state merely wants to use the child as a pawn because they want to go forward on the case in criminal court," Sciscento said. "My concern is really that we get the child to a place she wants to be."

Sciscento also questioned Hiltz's representation of the child as fearful. The girl might be reacting to her lengthy separation from Rezaei, Sciscento said. The girl was placed in foster care after being released from the hospital.

Sciscento also raised the issue of the father's rights. The girl's father is a Turkish citizen living in Germany who can't gain entry to the United States.

Prosecutor Ron Cordes argued that Sciscento had no standing to argue on the father's behalf and also told Kurtz that the father had been notified of the proceedings and did not arrange to have a representative present. Cordes also questioned the appropriateness of placing the girl with her aunt, whose reactions to the child's injuries was that her sister couldn't possibly be responsible for them.

"I believe a thorough investigation of the aunt is necessary to determine what her place in the whole process would be," Cordes said.

The family court trial on the abuse and neglect charges lodged against Rezaei will begin Jan. 8.