A worker at a New York state-run mental health facility was arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with a Long Island teen who was receiving treatment after going missing for nearly a month, according to court records and reports.
DeShaun McClean, 42, became the ninth person charged in connection to the disturbing case after he allegedly groped the 14-year-old girl and watched her engage in sexual activity during her time at the facility after she was found on Jan. 3, Newsday reported, citing court documents.
The appalling conduct by the mental health specialist aide, of Deer Park, took place between Jan. 9 and Jan. 28, Suffolk County prosecutors reportedly alleged.
McClean was hit with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a person incapable of consent and endangering the welfare of a child, court records showed Tuesday.
He pleaded not guilty to the trio of misdemeanors and was released on $5,000 bail.
An email to his listed attorney was not immediately returned. An email to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office was also not immediately returned Tuesday night.
Video surveillance recovered at the facility supported the allegations against McClean and the girl was interviewed by authorities on Saturday, court records show, according to Newsday.
The teen, Emmarae Gervasi, vanished on Dec. 9 from her Patchogue home before she was found last month on a docked boat at a marina in Islip by her father, Frank Gervasi, who was acting on an anonymous tip.
The owner of the boat, Francis Buckheit, was arrested the same day the girl was found on charges of kidnapping, rape and endangering the welfare of a child.
Other defendants in the case include Kevin McDonald, 20, Alton Harrell, 63, Daniel Burke, 63, Robert Eccleston, 63, Bunice Knight, 47, Jacquelyn Comiskey, 52, and Elizabeth Hunter, 34.
McDonald, Harrell, Burke, Eccleston and Knight are all facing rape charges and related criminal counts while Comiskey and Hunter were charged with sex trafficking based on the 25 days the girl was missing.
They have all pleaded not guilty during court appearances.
