Defense Attorney In LI Missing Teen Case Says Her Investigation Is Continuing

LONG ISLAND, NY — The defense attorney for an East Islip man, who is accused of raping and kidnapping a teenager during her 25-day disappearance, says she has received discovery and is continuing to investigate the case.

Francis Buckheit, 64, was in court earlier this week, though he does not face new charges, instead pleading not guilty again to first-degree kidnapping, second-degree rape, and other charges as part of a superseding indictment in which other defendants were added last month, his attorney, Danielle Marie Papa of Hauppauge, said.

Buckheit is one of 11 defendants charged in the 83-count indictment in connection with the teen’s disappearance from Dec. 9 to Jan. 3.

In a statement to Patch, Papa said, "I recently received some discovery from the District Attorney's office and expect to receive more. I am reviewing this material and conducting my own investigation to discover information that will assist in the exoneration of Mr. Buckheit."

Buckheit was the first arrest in the case.

The second person arrested was Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague, with investigators alleging he had sex with the girl inside of his house hours before she was found, according to reports.

Others arrested reportedly included Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, and Robert Eccleston, who were reportedly arrested with investigators alleging they kidnapped the teen and held her at their homes.
A 20-year-old from Medford, Kevin McDonald, was also reportedly arrested in connection with the case.

Two women were also reportedly charged on Jan. 24 with child trafficking in the case — Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, and Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, of Bellport — for using the teen for money and drugs from men.

Seven men and two women will answer a 75-count indictment containing updated charges, including child sex trafficking, kidnapping, and rape, Newsday reported.

Thirty-five-year-old Bellport resident Alton Harrell, who is alleged to have picked the teen up at her house on Dec. 9, faces the most serious upgrade with a new top charge of first-degree kidnapping, the outlet reported, citing court records.

Other arrests in connection with the case include that of Ralph Knowles, 63, and Rebecca Browell, 48, of Brentwood.

Online court records show that the nine previously indicted in connection with the case includes not only Knowles, but Buckheit, Eccleston, Burke, Harrell, McDonald, Hunter, Knight, and Comiskey.

Daniel Soto, 36, of Bay Shore, was the 12th person arrested on a felony charge of second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

The father of the teen plans a lawsuit against a state children's mental health facility on the grounds that his daughter’s constitutional rights were violated, Newsday reported.

He contends his daughter was remanded by a Suffolk judge as a sex trafficking victim to Sagamore Children’s Psychiatric Center after her disappearance in December, and that he is seeking monetary damages for personal injuries suffered by himself and his daughter and the expense of treatment, according to the outlet.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of the arrest of 42-year-old mental health worker DeShaun McClean, who was accused of having sexual contact with the teen between Jan. 9 and Jan. 23 at a that she was staying at in Suffolk after she was found, News 12 reported.

Editor's note: The teen's name is being withheld to protect her identity as a minor.