Kevin McDonald is eighth person charged in case of missing 14-year-old East Patchogue girl
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An eighth person was arrested and charged on Wednesday in a case involving a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl who went missing for 25 days before being found on a boat in Islip earlier this month.
Kevin McDonald, 20, of Medford, was arraigned in First District Court in Central Islip on charges of rape and endangering the welfare of a minor, prosecutors said. He pleaded not guilty and was being held on $250,000 cash bail or $500,000 bond.
McDonald allegedly had sex with the girl in the back seat of a 1998 Honda Accord in Bellport on Dec. 10 between 5 and 6 p.m., according to court papers. That was one day after the girl went missing. Prosecutors said in court that McDonald allegedly smoked marijuana with the girl in the car and then had sex with her.
After that, McDonald allegedly drove her to a motel in Bohemia, prosecutors said in court.
THE DEFENDANTS AND THEIR CHARGES
Eight defendants have now been arrested in the case, with charges ranging from rape and kidnapping to criminal sale of a controlled substance and sex trafficking, court records show.
The latest arrest was Wednesday, when Kevin McDonald, 20, of Medford, was charged with rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, have been charged with child sex trafficking. Hunter was also charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague, was charged with rape and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, and Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, both face top charges of first-degree kidnapping.
Alton Harrell, 35, of Bellport, and Robert Eccleston, 61, of Copiague each face second-degree kidnapping charges.
The charges against McDonald were based on statements both the girl and McDonald gave police, according to court papers.
Newsday is not naming the girl because she is a minor and an alleged victim of a sex crime.
His attorney, Richard Kaufman, said McDonald has no prior criminal record.
Kaufman, who was brought onto the case Wednesday, said there were still questions about the allegations. "The few things I’ve learned merit further investigation," he said.
Charges against other defendants in the case have included child sex trafficking, kidnapping, rape and criminal sale of a controlled substance, according to court records.
The girl was reported missing from Dec. 9 to Jan. 3, when she was found on a 56-foot boat docked at White Cap Marina in Islip. The boat is owned by Francis Buckheit, who was charged with kidnapping her, court records show. Prosecutors alleged that Buckheit told the teen he intended to "take her to the Carolinas," according to a transcript of his arraignment Jan. 4.
Buckheit was arrested hours after the girl was found on the boat, according to court records.
Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, both entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments, where they were charged with child sex trafficking.
Prosecutors alleged that, last month, Hunter took sexually explicit photographs of the girl on the boat, using them to advertise the teen for sex in exchange for drugs and money, prosecutors said at her arraignment. Hunter was also charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
Comiskey on Jan. 2 allegedly took the girl to a house in Copiague, where she traded her for crack cocaine to a man accused of raping her, prosecutors said. The man, Bunice Knight, 47, was arrested Jan. 13 and charged with rape and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. He pleaded not guilty.
Three other men are charged with kidnapping and raping the girl during the first three days of her disappearance. Investigators allege they each held the teen in a place where "she was unlikely to be found" and had sex with her.
With Grant Parpan
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