LONG ISLAND, NY - Previously, Law Enforcement Today reported on how a missing teen from Long Island was finally found by her father who, thanks to the community and police, busted in on a boat to rescue his daughter.
According to the New York Post, Suffolk County prosecutors have announced the indictment of a 65-year-old man linked to the alleged kidnapping and sex-trafficking of 14-year-old Emmarae Gervasi. Francis Buckheit was arrested on rape and kidnapping charges and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in the coming days.
Gervasi went missing from her Patchogue home on December 9, 2024 and was found by her father on a boat docked in Islip shortly after the new year. After the indictment, Buckheit's lawyer, Danielle Papa spoke with reporters. Papa said, "He's emotional. He's said he maintains his innocence. These are very serious charges, but as all individuals who are charged with crime, he deserves the presumption of innocence. He plans on fighting these charges as much as he can."
Papa added, "There's a lot more of a story than what's being told." Police and prosecutors have not yet confirmed Buckheit's link to Gervasi's mysterious disappearance, but the teen's father said his daughter was sex-trafficked and plied with drugs by "unsavory characters." The father, Frank Gervasi, said that his daughter has struggled with drug abuse in the past and was wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet when she left the family home and got into a car with an unidentified man.
Surveillance video shows the teen girl knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel the next day before vanishing again. Weeks later, he father got a tip and rescued her from a boat slip at an Islip marina. He said that his daughter is traumatized from the incident and is recovering from the weeks-long ordeal. As of this writing, prosecutors have not revealed if there are additional suspects in the case.
The indictment against Buckheit, which authorities said includes a January 3rd drunken driving arrest, is expected to be unsealed when he returns to court in the coming days. In the meantime, Papa said she is still trying to sort out the charges against her client. She said, "I'm going to have further conversations with him to find out what exactly it is that he is saying [happened]. The case is relatively new. We're still conducting our investigation and there's a lot more work that needs to be done at this particular point."
According to the New York Post, Frank Gervasi said, "The person who picked her up at my house, he removed the bracelet and, again, unsavory characters did what they did with her and she was already under the influence of drugs. She just started wandering aimlessly after that."
He added, "The type of drugs they're doing, there's definitely a link between the drugs and trafficking. Heavy drugs that they use [on] these girls to get addicted to traffic them." Buckheit is being held without bail. Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement, "Obviously, there was an incident involving a minor and because she's a minor, I'm sort of precluded from saying a lot."
He added, "Thankfully that child has been found and she's safe. We're going to continue to work with our county attorney's office to make sure that she stays safe and we are going to work on that." When asked if others were involved in the teen's kidnapping, Tierney said, "I can tell you there were monumental efforts undertaken on behalf of both my office, the PD, the marshal service as well as a number of entities. I can tell you that if anyone thinks that they can engage in this type of conduct with a minor without ramifications, well, we'll see what the grand jury says."
The father maintains that others were involved in his daughter's disappearance, with a crew allegedly having held the girl the hotel before she was picked up and forced onto the boat. He said, "From what I heard, they were getting ready to move the boat. My daughter, she overheard them." He said that his daughter is safe, but will need time to recover. He said, "She's doing good. She's got a long road of recovery ahead of her, but, you know, that's the way it goes with this kind of stuff."
According to the New York Post, Suffolk County prosecutors have announced the indictment of a 65-year-old man linked to the alleged kidnapping and sex-trafficking of 14-year-old Emmarae Gervasi. Francis Buckheit was arrested on rape and kidnapping charges and is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in the coming days.
Gervasi went missing from her Patchogue home on December 9, 2024 and was found by her father on a boat docked in Islip shortly after the new year. After the indictment, Buckheit's lawyer, Danielle Papa spoke with reporters. Papa said, "He's emotional. He's said he maintains his innocence. These are very serious charges, but as all individuals who are charged with crime, he deserves the presumption of innocence. He plans on fighting these charges as much as he can."
Papa added, "There's a lot more of a story than what's being told." Police and prosecutors have not yet confirmed Buckheit's link to Gervasi's mysterious disappearance, but the teen's father said his daughter was sex-trafficked and plied with drugs by "unsavory characters." The father, Frank Gervasi, said that his daughter has struggled with drug abuse in the past and was wearing a monitoring ankle bracelet when she left the family home and got into a car with an unidentified man.
Surveillance video shows the teen girl knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel the next day before vanishing again. Weeks later, he father got a tip and rescued her from a boat slip at an Islip marina. He said that his daughter is traumatized from the incident and is recovering from the weeks-long ordeal. As of this writing, prosecutors have not revealed if there are additional suspects in the case.
The indictment against Buckheit, which authorities said includes a January 3rd drunken driving arrest, is expected to be unsealed when he returns to court in the coming days. In the meantime, Papa said she is still trying to sort out the charges against her client. She said, "I'm going to have further conversations with him to find out what exactly it is that he is saying [happened]. The case is relatively new. We're still conducting our investigation and there's a lot more work that needs to be done at this particular point."
According to the New York Post, Frank Gervasi said, "The person who picked her up at my house, he removed the bracelet and, again, unsavory characters did what they did with her and she was already under the influence of drugs. She just started wandering aimlessly after that."
He added, "The type of drugs they're doing, there's definitely a link between the drugs and trafficking. Heavy drugs that they use [on] these girls to get addicted to traffic them." Buckheit is being held without bail. Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement, "Obviously, there was an incident involving a minor and because she's a minor, I'm sort of precluded from saying a lot."
He added, "Thankfully that child has been found and she's safe. We're going to continue to work with our county attorney's office to make sure that she stays safe and we are going to work on that." When asked if others were involved in the teen's kidnapping, Tierney said, "I can tell you there were monumental efforts undertaken on behalf of both my office, the PD, the marshal service as well as a number of entities. I can tell you that if anyone thinks that they can engage in this type of conduct with a minor without ramifications, well, we'll see what the grand jury says."
The father maintains that others were involved in his daughter's disappearance, with a crew allegedly having held the girl the hotel before she was picked up and forced onto the boat. He said, "From what I heard, they were getting ready to move the boat. My daughter, she overheard them." He said that his daughter is safe, but will need time to recover. He said, "She's doing good. She's got a long road of recovery ahead of her, but, you know, that's the way it goes with this kind of stuff."
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