A state mental health worker accused of committing a sex crime against a 14-year-old Long Island girl who is notorious for human trafficking rings, was forced to surface for cameras Tuesday.
Desshaun McLean, 42, who works at a New York-run children's mental health facility, has been accused of groping the girl and watching her engage in sexual activity while she was there.
Child Emarae Gervasi was rescued from a sex trafficking ring while on January 3rd.
McLean appeared in Suffolk County District Court for an obvious routine status update in his case on Tuesday – the media was the first to see him. He is scheduled to return to court on March 24th.
While in the building in the hallway, some of his aides got violent with reporters and photographers gathering around him.
The unidentified companion in a puffy black jacket walks next to MacLean, wearing black pants and a grey jacket, stretching out his arms at one point, asking MacLean if he wants to say anything. I blocked a female reporter trying to do so.
“Don't touch me,” the reporter said after the escort put his forearm into his chest.
The male photographer then rose to his feet and repeated, “Don't touch her.”
The escort in the puffy jacket said, “What are you going to do?”
The photographer replied, “I said without touching her.”
The camera was then cut out and when it returned, the photographer was down from the ground.
Prosecutors hit McLean in Dear Park in two counts of criminal sexual contact with people without consent, court records show.
He pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor trio in his January 4 arrest and was cut on $5,000 bail.
McLean is said to have committed horrifying behavior from January 9th to January 28th. According to Newsday.
Emarae disappeared from her Patchigue home on December 9th and went missing for a month before her father, Frank Gervasi, found her on a boat after the tip.
Stay up to date with Emarae Gervasi, a missing teen found on the boat
A total of 12 people have been arrested in the roles in the case, including boat owners Francis Buckheit, 64, and 35-year-old Alton Harrell.
Both men are charged with rape, child danger and inducement.
Authorities have focused on Harrel, 35, a key figure in the disease plot, revolving around the lure, engaging her for 25 days, giving her drugs, raping her repeatedly, and selling her body. . Newsday Report.
“The accused set up all the series of events that continue to move by sacrificing someone they knew as a child,” Suffolk County District Attorney Assistant Dana Castaldo told the court.
He pleaded not guilty.
Other defendants include Kevin McDonald, 20. Daniel Burke, 63; Robert Ecclestone, 63; Bunice Knight, 47; Jaclyn Comisky, 52; Elizabeth Hunter, 34.
McDonald, Harrell, Burke, Ecclestone and Knight all face rape fees and related crimes, while Comisky and Hunter are charged with sex trafficking.
They all pleaded not guilty while appearing in court.
