An attorney for one of eight men accused of raping a 14-year-old East Patchogue girl aboard a boat in Islip argued Tuesday that her client was charged only after Suffolk police showed the girl an image of him that was larger than others in the photo array. 

Attorney Katherine Fernandez told a judge that the altered photo array and previous statements by the teen that never mentioned client Daniel Soto greatly reduce the likelihood of his conviction and are grounds for him to be released from jail without bail.

"The people’s case and the evidence at this stage, your honor, are extremely weak at best," Fernandez told acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Wilutis during a contentious arraignment in Riverhead.

Wilutis ultimately determined monetary bail was necessary to assure Soto’s return to court, given the lengthy sentence he could face if convicted and his prior criminal history, which includes past failures to appear in court. She set bail at $250,000 cash or $750,000 bond, lower than the $500,000 or $1 million prosecutors had requested.

Soto, 36, of Bay Shore, is one of 11 defendants charged in an 83-count indictment related to the teen’s 25-day disappearance from Dec. 9 to Jan. 3. He is charged with second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child. Charges against other defendants in the case include kidnapping and child sex trafficking.

Fernandez said Soto’s name and the allegations against him were not mentioned in an initial seven-page sworn statement by the teen, whom Newsday has not identified since she is a minor and the alleged victim of sex crimes. The teen gave that statement to police after she was found on the yacht at White Cap Marina in Islip Jan. 3.

It wasn’t until Feb. 4, after another defendant in the case identified Soto as someone who sold crack cocaine to the boat occupants, that the teen said he had sex with her, Fernandez said.

The defense lawyer said during the arraignment that the teen made that allegation only after a Suffolk detective showed her a photo array in which Soto’s image was the only one "zoomed in and resized," compared to other images. A detective noted the photo was altered on a form about the array, Fernandez said.

Fernandez said the teen’s statement regarding the photo array, which she will seek to have excluded from trial, is the only evidence prosecutors have submitted alleging Soto had sex with the teen. She also questioned the credibility of the girl as a witness, citing her involvement as a victim in other criminal cases.

Assistant District Attorney Dana Castaldo, who did not address the issue of the photo array, said her involvement in other cases was not relevant in determining bail and accused Fernandez of "victim shaming."

"There’s been no indication that this victim has been disingenuous," Castaldo told Wilutis about the girl, who is now 15.

Speaking outside of court, Fernandez said the law permits her to attack the credibility of a witness whose statement is the basis of her client’s arrest.

Castaldo alleged Soto was invited to the boat by co-defendant Elizabeth Hunter, 34, of Islip, who she said took explicit images of the teen that she shared with others to entice them to engage in sexual acts with the girl in exchange for drugs. She also said Soto, while denying he had sex with the teen, admitted to detectives that he saw her naked on the boat and commented on one of her body parts. 

But Fernandez said police video shows investigators never shared an image of the girl during a three-hour interrogation with Soto to confirm he knew her. She said the comment about the teen’s body was first made by a detective.

Soto is due back in court May 1.

Co-defendant Anthony Wright, who was also scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday, had his appearance rescheduled to next Tuesday due to health issues, Wilutis said.

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.