Suffolk police have arrested and charged Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, and Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, in connection with the alleged rape and kidnapping of a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl who disappeared last month, court records show. Credit: Newsday

Suffolk police have arrested and charged two more men in connection with the alleged rape and kidnapping of a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl who disappeared for 25 days last month, court records show.

Daniel Burke, 63, of Bohemia, and Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, were taken into custody by police Friday and arraigned Saturday morning, bringing the total number of men charged in the case to five, according to charging documents obtained by Newsday.

Daniel Burke, of Bohemia, is seen here. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff

Investigators allege the men kidnapped the teen and held her at two locations "where she was unlikely to be found" between 5 p.m. on Dec. 10 and midnight Dec. 13, court records show.

Burke is charged with first-degree kidnapping, a felony with a maximum sentence of life in prison, and second-degree rape, for allegedly keeping the teen at his home on Valley Forge Drive in Bohemia and having sex with her there, according to a criminal complaint. He is also charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Burke was remanded to the Suffolk County jail without bail during his arraignment before Suffolk County District Judge F. Scott Carrigan in Central Islip.

Robert Eccleston, 61, of Islip, is seen here. Credit: Suffolk County Sheriff

Eccleston is accused of having sex with the girl twice inside a detached garage behind his residence on Monell Avenue in Islip, where he allegedly held her at some point during the three-day period, the court papers show. He is charged with second-degree kidnapping, a felony with a penalty of up to 25 years behind bars, second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the complaint. Carrigan set bail for Eccleston at $500,000 cash or $100,000 bond, which court records show he has not posted.

Newsday is not identifying the girl because she is a minor and the alleged victim of sexual abuse.

Eccleston's court-appointed attorney, Del Atwell, of East Hampton, did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment Sunday.

Attorney Oscar Crisafio, of Central Islip, who was appointed to represent Burke following his arraignment, declined to comment.

The charges against both men are based on statements made by the defendants after they were picked up by police and a seven-page written sworn statement the teen gave police on Jan. 3, the day she was found on a boat docked at White Cap Marina in Islip, located less than a mile from Eccleston's home.

The owner of the boat, Francis Buckheit, 64, of East Islip, has been charged with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in connection with the case.

Prosecutors previously told the court that investigators believe Buckheit, who is alleged to have kept the teen on his 56-foot boat between Dec. 13 and Jan. 3, intended to take the girl by boat to the Carolinas, according to a transcript from his Jan. 4 arraignment.

A 34-year-old woman listed as a witness in the complaint charging Buckheit also gave a statement to police on Jan. 8 regarding Eccleston, court records show.

Additional details about Burke and Eccleston's contact with the teen were not shared in any court documents that were publicly available Sunday.

Friday's arrests came one week after Alton Harrell, 35, of Bellport, was charged with second-degree rape and kidnapping for allegedly having sex with the teen and holding the girl at an abandoned house on Doane Avenue in Bellport between 5 p.m. on Dec. 9 and 10, charging documents show.

Buckheit and Harrell are also being held at the county jail, court records show.

Bunice Knight, 47, of Copiague, is the only defendant to have posted bail in the case, according to court records. He is charged with second-degree rape for allegedly having sex with the teen inside his residence on Jervis Avenue on the evening of Jan. 2, hours before she was located in Islip. He is also facing felony drug charges.

Collectively, the court records in the five men's cases account for locations where the teen was allegedly held for all 25 days she was reported missing.

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