East Patchogue missing girl case: Grand jury indictment charges 9 in connection with 14-year-old's disappearance

Nine defendants have been charged in a 75-count grand jury indictment that includes allegations of child sex trafficking, kidnapping and rape in connection with the 25-day disappearance of a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl who was found on a boat last month, court records show.
Alton Harrell, 35, of Bellport, the man alleged to have picked the teen up at her house Dec. 9, faces the most serious upgrade with a new top charge of first-degree kidnapping, according to the court records. Harrell, who is alleged to have taken the teen to an abandoned home on Doane Avenue in Bellport, now faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum term of life.
Two other men, the boat owner Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, and Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, who allegedly kept the teen at his mobile home for more than a day, remain charged with first-degree kidnapping under the indictment, records show.
Twelve individuals have been arrested so far in connection with the case of a missing East Patchogue girl. A mugshot of Deshaun McClean, 42, of Deer Park, was not immediately available. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff
A grand jury indictment, which often includes new charges based on a continuing investigation, is the next step in the legal process after defendants are first arrested and arraigned in district court.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Nine defendants have been charged in a 75-count grand jury indictment in connection with the 25-day disappearance of a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl, court records show.
- The charges reflect a "comprehensive" review by Suffolk police detectives, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
- The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday in Riverhead.
"We said we were going to go through the grand jury and do an extensive investigation and that's what we did," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney told Newsday. "Now we’re to the point where we hold these individuals responsible."
Tierney said a superseding indictment in the case, which includes three other individuals not charged in the indictment, is likely. The charges to date reflect a "comprehensive" review by Suffolk police detectives of the circumstances behind the teen’s disappearance, Tierney said.
Newsday has not named the girl because she is a minor and the alleged victim of sexual abuse.
Buckheit’s court-appointed attorney, Danielle Papa, of Hauppauge, in a statement denied the allegations and said "we look forward to defending him as more of the true facts are revealed."
Harrell’s court-appointed attorney, Jeremy Scileppi, of Commack, declined to comment until he’s "had an opportunity to review the charges."
Attorney Oscar Crisafio, appointed to represent Burke, said in a statement that his client "denies the allegations against him."
The nine defendants currently charged in the indictment are scheduled to be arraigned before acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis in Riverhead on Thursday.
The indictment indicates the alleged trafficking of the teen began Dec. 13, when she allegedly first ended up on Buckheit’s boat at White Cap Marina in Islip, where court records allege she was raped by multiple men and marketed for sex by two women charged by the grand jury. Buckheit, Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, and Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, are all charged with child sex trafficking, according to the indictment.
Buckheit, Burke and Hunter are each charged with using a child in a sexual performance, while Hunter is charged with promoting and possessing a sexual performance by a child and Comiskey is charged with promoting prostitution, according to the indictment.
Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, who is alleged to have kept the teen in a detached garage behind his home while having sex with her on multiple occasions between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13, was additionally charged with second-degree kidnapping. Harrell, Buckheit and Burke are also charged with the lesser second-degree charge, in addition to first-degree kidnapping. Second-degree kidnapping carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague, faces multiple counts on a top charge of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, records show. He is alleged to have traded drugs to Comiskey for sex with the teen inside his home on Jan. 2, hours before she was found on Buckheit’s boat the following morning, according to court records and statements made by attorneys at prior arraignments in the case.
All seven men named in the indictment are charged with second-degree rape for having sex with the teen, records show. Knight and Harrell are also charged with patronizing prostitution.
Kevin McDonald, 20, of Medford, who is alleged to have had sex with the teen in the back seat of his car before driving her to a Bohemia motel after she left the house where Harrell kept her during the first 24 hours of her disappearance, is charged with rape and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child, records show.
Attorneys for Knight, McDonald, Eccleston, Hunter and Comiskey could not be immediately reached for comment Sunday.
Ralph Knowles, 63, of Brentwood, is charged in the indictment with rape and misdemeanors for sexual abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child, records show.
"Even after an indictment, my client is given every presumption of innocence," said Knowles' attorney, Chase Brown. "He adamantly denies these allegations, and he looks forward to receiving all discovery and his day in court."
Three additional defendants who faced charges in District Court related to the teen’s disappearance were not included in the initial indictment. All 12 defendants have pleaded not guilty in lower court.
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