12th person charged in connection to disappearance of Long Island teen Emmarae Gervasi

A twelfth arrest has been made in the alleged sex trafficking of Long Island teen Emmarae Gervasi, The Post has learned.

Daniel Soto, a 36-year-old Bay Shore man, was arrested Friday morning on charges of second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child.

Investigators accused Soto of having sex with the girl sometime between Dec. 13-20, 2024. The rape allegedly happened at a marina in Islip — the same place the teen was found last month aboard a 56-foot yacht after having gone missing.

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Gervasi, 14, went missing from her Patchogue home on Dec. 9. She was seen on surveillance video leaving her house shoeless before hopping into a car. An ankle bracelet she’d been wearing was found cut and dumped not far away.

The girl’s father, Frank Gervasi, rescued her from the boat on Jan. 3, after receiving a tip that she was there.

Soto entered not guilty pleas at his arraignment.

Stay up to date on Emmarae Gervasi, the missing LI teen found on a boat

• 12th person charged in connection to disappearance of LI teen Emmarae Gervasi
• Who failed Emmarae Gervasi? Inside the childhood trauma, rehab and worrying posts before Long Island teen’s 25-day ordeal and rescue
• Mental health facility worker accused of groping Long Island girl who was missing for weeks
• LI dad reveals horror of 14-year-old daughter who vanished mysteriously for a month and was found on a boat
• Emmarae Gervasi’s dad says she was victim of sex-trafficking: ‘Forced to do things that a 14-year-old girl shouldn’t have to do’
• Missing Long Island teen Emmarae Gervasi, 14, found on boat nearly month after disappearing: ‘Prayers answered

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Eleven others have been arrested for the roles they played in the case, including the boat’s owner, Francis Buckheit, 64, and Alton Harrell, 35, both charged with rape, child endangerment, and kidnapping charges.

Bunice Knight, 47, was charged with second-degree rape, child endangerment, and three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance. Daniel Burke, 63, and Robert Eccleston, 61, have been charged with kidnapping, rape, and child endangerment.

Two women, Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34, were charged this week with sex trafficking and child endangerment.

Kevin McDonald, 20, is accused of raping the girl in a car the day after she vanished.