The girl’s parents, Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, of Quarryville, Lancaster County, were also arrested after reportedly admitting to police they gave the girl to Kaplan after doing online legal research. Twelve girls, ranging from 6 months to 18 years, were found Thursday inside the home located on the 400 block of Old Street Road in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.
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Bob Greenfield, a man who lives in the area said he occasionally saw Kaplan and two of the girls at a nearby Wawa. Daniel Stoltzfus, the girl’s father, is being charged with conspiracy of statutory sexual assault and children endangerment. The mother of the girl is being charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
The girl, now 18, told police she and Kaplan had two daughters, a three-year-old and a six-month-old.
The victim’s parents, Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, gave her to Kaplan four years ago in gratitude “for helping (the) family out of financial ruin”, according to criminal complaints. Nine other girls were in the home.
Kaplan faces charges of statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault on a person younger than 16, corruption of minors and contact with a minor involving sexual offenses. Court documents don’t list an attorney for him.
Hoopes said they did receive calls about the home, but they were not for child abuse, and they did not have enough evidence to go into the home.
Lower Southampton Lt. Ted Krimmel says police had a search warrant for the entire property.
Prosecutors allege the parents of the teenager said they were going to lose their farm until Kaplan helped them.
Kaplan and the Stoltzfuses are each being held on $1m bail. “That’s what made me call”, she said.
He said authorities waited until daylight Saturday to undertake the search so that they would have good daylight. “Bucks County is investigating that along with other agencies to help identify their genealogy and who their parents actually are”, Krimmel said, adding that all are now in protective custody.
Heckler said the children apparently did not attend school and it was unclear if they had ever been to a doctor, but they didn’t appear to be in bad health and showed no visible signs of trauma. Police had also been told that Kaplan was telling neighbors that no children lived there.
Kaplan and the 18-year-old were not married, but Heckler said they acted as husband and wife.
“You knew something was wrong”, he said. I saw a couple girls last week standing in the driveway.
The Stoltzfuses were born into the Amish faith, but renounced it amid a years-long fight with community elders, according to a federal lawsuit they filed in 2009 against their former church.
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Authorities searched Kaplan’s property Saturday; they would not say what they are looking for. The lawsuit, which was dismissed later that year, said they operated a metalworking business on their property.
