Anthony Wright, of Amityville, and Daniel Soto, of Bay Shore, face new second-degree rape charges in missing girl case
Daniel Soto, of Bay Shore, left, the boat where a 14-year-old missing girl officials said the teen was kept, middle, and Anthony Wright, of Amityville, right. Credit: Newsday File
Eight new counts have been unsealed in a new indictment charging 11 defendants in the case of an East Patchogue girl who was allegedly raped repeatedly during a 25-day disappearance last December, court records show...
A Suffolk grand jury filed the new charges against Anthony Wright, 40, of Amityville, and Daniel Soto, 36, of Bay Shore, who were both arrested last month in relation to the 14-year-old girl’s disappearance. 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.
"This new superseding indictment adds additional defendants to the people’s case," attorney Jeremy Scileppi, of Commack, said after an arraignment Thursday of his client, Alton Harrell, the man accused of picking up the teen when she first left her home Dec. 9.
Harrell, 35, of Bellport, and the other eight defendants previously indicted in the case are not facing any new charges, though each will be arraigned again over the next two weeks, records show. Harrell pleaded not guilty before Acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis in Riverhead Thursday.
Newsday is not naming the girl, who is now 15, because she is a minor and the alleged victim of a sex crime.
Harrell, 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, which carries a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. He is also facing felony charges of rape, burglary and aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution.
Wilutis ordered Harrell to continue to be remanded to the Suffolk County jail without bail.
Assistant District Attorney Dana Castaldo called the discovery in the case "exceptionally voluminous" as she explained to Wilutis that prosecutors are still working on the process of turning over that evidence to the defense attorneys in the case.
Scileppi said outside the courtroom that once the defense is able to review what he is told is "thousands of pages" of discovery they should expect to receive, he’ll be in a better position to discuss the case with Harrell.
"My client is very inclined to press this forward to a trial," Scileppi said.
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.
Wright is alleged to have engaged in sex with the teen at his home on Silverpine Drive in Amityville late on Dec. 22 into the following morning, court records show. He was arrested by Suffolk police on Feb. 24.
Soto is facing one count of endangering the welfare of a child in addition to the single rape charge, according to the indictment. He was arrested by Suffolk Police on Feb. 8, records show.
Both Soto and Wright have previously denied the allegations.
Police first arrested Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, who owns the boat 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. Buckheit will be arraigned on the 83-count superseding indictment Monday, records show.
Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, remain charged with child sex trafficking in connection with the girl’s disappearance.
Hunter allegedly advertised the teen for sex in exchange for money and drugs and took sexually explicit photos of her between Dec. 13 and Dec. 20, prosecutors have said.
Comiskey allegedly took the girl on Jan. 2 to a house in Copiague, where she traded the minor for crack cocaine to a man accused of raping her, prosecutors said. The man, Bunice Knight, 47, was arrested on Jan. 13 and charged with rape and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
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, and Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, have 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. He and Rebecca Browell, 48, of Brentwood, are also facing drug charges in a separate indictment, records show, though Browell is not charged in relation to the girl’s disappearance.
Another man who was arrested for 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.
Eight new counts have been unsealed in a new indictment charging 11 defendants in the case of an East Patchogue girl who was allegedly raped repeatedly during a 25-day disappearance last December, court records show...
A Suffolk grand jury filed the new charges against Anthony Wright, 40, of Amityville, and Daniel Soto, 36, of Bay Shore, who were both arrested last month in relation to the 14-year-old girl’s disappearance. 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.
"This new superseding indictment adds additional defendants to the people’s case," attorney Jeremy Scileppi, of Commack, said after an arraignment Thursday of his client, Alton Harrell, the man accused of picking up the teen when she first left her home Dec. 9.
Harrell, 35, of Bellport, and the other eight defendants previously indicted in the case are not facing any new charges, though each will be arraigned again over the next two weeks, records show. Harrell pleaded not guilty before Acting Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis in Riverhead Thursday.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Eight new counts have been unsealed in a new indictment charging 11 defendants in the case of an East Patchogue girl who was allegedly raped repeatedly during a 25-day disappearance in December.
- A Suffolk grand jury filed the new charges against Anthony Wright, 40, of Amityville, and Daniel Soto, 36, of Bay Shore, who were both arrested last month in relation to the 14-year-old girl’s disappearance.
- 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.
Newsday is not naming the girl, who is now 15, because she is a minor and the alleged victim of a sex crime.
Harrell, 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, which carries a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. He is also facing felony charges of rape, burglary and aggravated patronizing a minor for prostitution.
Wilutis ordered Harrell to continue to be remanded to the Suffolk County jail without bail.
Assistant District Attorney Dana Castaldo called the discovery in the case "exceptionally voluminous" as she explained to Wilutis that prosecutors are still working on the process of turning over that evidence to the defense attorneys in the case.
Scileppi said outside the courtroom that once the defense is able to review what he is told is "thousands of pages" of discovery they should expect to receive, he’ll be in a better position to discuss the case with Harrell.
"My client is very inclined to press this forward to a trial," Scileppi said.
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.
Wright is alleged to have engaged in sex with the teen at his home on Silverpine Drive in Amityville late on Dec. 22 into the following morning, court records show. He was arrested by Suffolk police on Feb. 24.
Soto is facing one count of endangering the welfare of a child in addition to the single rape charge, according to the indictment. He was arrested by Suffolk Police on Feb. 8, records show.
Both Soto and Wright have previously denied the allegations.
Police first arrested Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, who owns the boat 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. Buckheit will be arraigned on the 83-count superseding indictment Monday, records show.
Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, remain charged with child sex trafficking in connection with the girl’s disappearance.
Hunter allegedly advertised the teen for sex in exchange for money and drugs and took sexually explicit photos of her between Dec. 13 and Dec. 20, prosecutors have said.
Comiskey allegedly took the girl on Jan. 2 to a house in Copiague, where she traded the minor for crack cocaine to a man accused of raping her, prosecutors said. The man, Bunice Knight, 47, was arrested on Jan. 13 and charged with rape and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.
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, and Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, have 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. He and Rebecca Browell, 48, of Brentwood, are also facing drug charges in a separate indictment, records show, though Browell is not charged in relation to the girl’s disappearance.
Another man who was arrested for 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.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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