Newsday/Robert E. Kessler
Joseph Burkett, a 41 year old clerk at a Setauket deli with a history of sexually abusing
children, has been charged with molesting several boys, at least one of whom he met on the MySpace
Web site, after using the Internet to lure them to his Sound Beach home. Burkett, of
Shinnecock Drive in Sound Beach, was arrested June 14, 2007 and charged with two counts of using a
child in a sexual performance, one count of committing a criminal sexual act and one count of
sexual abuse. Officials have identified five male victims, all between the ages of 12 and
14. Burkett pleaded not guilty and was held on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond.
Burkett's criminal history in New York goes back to 1986, when he pleaded guilty to
misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child and got three years' probation. In 1988, he
was charged with first degree sodomy but later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of felony sexual
abuse. He served six months in Suffolk County jail. Burkett was not a registered sex
offender because his conviction predated Megan's Law. Police request that anyone with further
information about these incidents call CrimeStoppers at 800-220-TIPS.
Burkett pleaded not guilty on June 26, 2007 to new charges that he sexually abused two boys
and took explicit photographs of them. He was arraigned on an indictment that includes
charges of sodomy, possessing a sexual performance by a child, using a child in a sexual
performance and endangering the welfare of a child.
On May 21, 2009, Burkett, now 43, pleaded guilty to taking pornographic pictures of a
teenage boy for his "sexual gratification" in a plea bargain that will result in a mandatory prison
sentence of 35 years. He received the 35-year sentence because under federal law he had been
convicted twice of crimes involving minors. The first offense calls for a 15-year sentence;
the second offense a 25-year sentence.
In an unrelated case, Thomas Libby, a Manhasset man, was arraigned on charges of sending and
receiving child pornography. Libby, an accountant, pleaded not guilty. He assumed the
online identity of a mother with young daughters while trafficking in child pornography. He
had been a coach for a local Little League team that one of his sons was on. Libby was held
without bail pending future hearings.
(New York)