Long Island cops make arrest in case of Emmarae Gervasi after dad says teen was sex-trafficked, rescued from boat
Suffolk County cops arrested a 65-year-old man in the mysterious case of a 14-year-old girl who, her dad says, was sex-trafficked after she disappeared from home nearly a month ago.
The arrest in the case of Emmarae Gervasi comes just days after the girl was found alone on a boat docked in Islip — with few clues as to how she got there.
Police have not released details of the suspect in the case and referred questions to the county district attorney’s office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“There was an arrest made in the case and at this time additional inquiries will be directed to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” police said in an email.
Frank Gervasi, the teen’s father, identified the suspect as Francis Buckheit, 65, of Islip in a Facebook post on Monday.
Police and prosecutors have not confirmed the suspect’s identity, but online court records show that a man with that name and of the same age was arraigned Saturday on charges of rape, kidnapping and acting in a manner injurious to a child, with the date of the crime listed as Dec. 13.
He was ordered held without bail pending a return court appearance later this week, the records show.
The teen vanished on Dec. 9 after leaving her home without shoes or a jacket, last seen getting into a car outside the family’s Patchogue home. The following day, she was spotted on surveillance cameras knocking on doors at a Bohemia motel before disappearing again.
In a series of earlier posts, Frank Gervasi said he was leading a search for his daughter — and claimed that the girl initially left with a man she met online but was later dropped off and then picked up by a “random” 65-year-old stranger.
In a post over the weekend, he said he believed Emmarae was a victim of sex trafficking and was “forced to do things that a 14-year-old shouldn’t have to do.”
“Emma was being held against her will. She was not allowed to leave the boat unless she was escorted by somebody,” he said. “So I do believe this is sex trafficking, and it’s being looked into.”
He said he got a phone tip that led him to his daughter on the boat, which was docked near the White Cap Fish Market in Islip.
“The lady who gave me the tip was afraid to go in the boat.”
On Monday, Frank Gervasi abruptly canceled an interview with The Post to tend to his daughter, but said the girl was doing fine under the circumstances.
