Robert Eccleston, of Islip, pleads not guilty in new indictment in connection with missing girl case

One of the defendants in the case of an East Patchogue girl who authorities say was repeatedly raped during a 25-day disappearance in December pleaded not guilty to charges in a new indictment during an arraignment on Monday.

Robert Eccleston, 61, faces no new charges in the superseding indictment unsealed last week, and his appearance before acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis in Riverhead was a formality.

Wilutis ordered Eccleston, who is charged with second-degree kidnapping, second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child, to remain in custody in lieu of $1 million cash bail, $3 million bond or $10 million partially secured bond. He faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted on the most serious count, the kidnapping charge. Wilutis ordered Eccleston, of Islip, to return to court on April 30.

Eccleston is accused of having sex with the girl twice inside a detached garage behind his residence on Monell Avenue in Islip, where he allegedly held her at some point during a three-day period, according to court records.

Eccleston’s attorney, Jason Bassett, of Central Islip, declined to talk to reporters after Monday’s brief hearing.

Newsday is not naming the girl, who is now 15, because she is a minor and the alleged victim of a sex crime.

Eccleston is one of 11 defendants charged in the 14-year-old girl’s disappearance. The superseding indictment unsealed last week added eight new counts against co-defendants Anthony Wright, 40, of Amityville, and Daniel Soto, 36, of Bay Shore.

Soto and Wright are each charged with second-degree rape, also known as statutory rape, for having sex with the teen during the weeks she stayed on a boat docked at a marina in Islip, according to the indictment.

Wright and Soto are expected to be arraigned before Wilutis on April 1, records show. Wright is facing three counts of second-degree rape, aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution, patronizing a minor for prostitution and endangering the welfare of a child. Soto is facing one count of endangering the welfare of a child in addition to the single rape charge, according to the indictment. Both Soto and Wright have previously denied the allegations.

Police first arrested Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, who owns the boat that was docked in an Islip marina where the girl was found on Jan. 3. Prosecutors allege Buckheit kidnapped and raped the teen as she stayed on his boat for more than three weeks.

Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, remain charged with child sex trafficking in connection with the girl’s disappearance. Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague, is charged with rape and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Alton Harrell, 35, of Bellport, who is accused of keeping the girl in an abandoned residence on Doane Avenue in Bellport until the evening of Dec. 10, is facing a top charge of first-degree kidnapping, along with felony charges of rape, burglary and aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution.

Kevin McDonald, 20, of Medford, is charged with raping the girl in the backseat of a car after she left the home where Harrell was allegedly keeping her on Dec. 10, prosecutors have said. Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, has been charged with kidnapping and raping the girl during the first three days of her disappearance, according to authorities.

Ralph Knowles, 63, of Brentwood, is charged with attempted rape, forcible touching, sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the indictment.

Another man who was arrested for alleged sexual interactions with the teen after she was found on the boat is also not charged in the indictment, though his case remains open in district court. Deshaun McClean, 42, of Deer Park, who was an employee of a state-run children's mental health facility in Suffolk County, is charged with criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual conduct with a person incapable of consent and endangering the welfare of a child.