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Police went to the home after a neighbor called in a tip. Newslook
Lee Kaplan, 51, of Feasterville, Pa.(Photo: Lower Southampton Police Department via AP)
Authorities in suburban Philadelphia<span style="color: Red;">*</span>were trying to unravel the mysteries Sunday of a local man found living with 12 girls, one of whom was apparently a "gift" from<span style="color: Red;">*</span>her financially strapped parents.
Lee Kaplan, 51, was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses<span style="color: Red;">*</span>after authorities, acting on a tip from a neighbor, found Kaplan at his Lower Southampton home with girls ranging in age from 6<span style="color: Red;">*</span>months to 18 years. The 18-year-old told police she and Kaplan were the parents of a 3-year-old and the 6-month old.
"They were living in the basement, they were hiding in the chicken coop," Robert Hoopes, Lower Southampton's director of public safety,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said of the girls. He added that the children<span style="color: Red;">*</span>apparently were home-schooled, that musical instruments and homework were<span style="color: Red;">*</span>found in the basement.
Police with search dogs spent the weekend sifting through the property for clues.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Authorities were trying to determine the identity of the other nine girls in the house, including the possibility that all the girls were related.
The teen's father, Daniel Stoltzfus, 43, told investigators he and his wife Savilla, 42, "gifted" their daughter to Kaplan about four<span style="color: Red;">*</span>years ago after researching the legality on the Internet.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The couple told police they were broke and poised to lose their farm in rural Lancaster County when Kaplan "saved them from financial ruin."
Daniel Stoltzfus faces charges of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>conspiracy to commit<span style="color: Red;">*</span>statutory sexual assault and children endangerment. His wife was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>charged with endangering the welfare of a child.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Kaplan and the couple were being held Sunday on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>$1 million bail each.
Hoopes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Stoltzfus family was or had been Amish. He dismissed claims from neighbors that they had been complaining about the living situation in the home for years.
"What kind of call did they (make)?" Hoopes asked. "That they saw Amish people? That's the kind of calls we got. We didn't get any child abuse calls.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>If<span style="color: Red;">*</span>it was a child abuse call we would have responded."
He added that police had responded to a call regarding the house at least once in the past, but no probable<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cause for a search warrant was found.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Hoopes said police were trying to determine whether the children were abused. They have now been<span style="color: Red;">*</span>placed in protective custody.
The children did not appear malnourished and the house was in relatively good condition, he said. The house<span style="color: Red;">*</span>had a greenhouse, and food was being grown.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>The chickens were taken by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Kaplan apparently made money selling model train equipment and had an "elaborate setup" worth thousands of dollars, Hoopes said.
Jen Betz told the Associated Press she called authorities because she was concerned about young girls living in the house with boarded windows and high weeds.
“They’re so sad and fearful every time I see them," Betz said. "That’s what made me call.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>I’ve been telling my husband for years, ‘Something isn’t right, something isn’t right.’”
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