“I wanted (Kaplan) off the street despite the fact he told me he loved the children”, Lower Southampton District Judge John Waltman said.
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Child welfare workers acting on a tip-off on Thursday found 12 girls between the ages of six months and 18 years living in Kaplan’s home in the town of Feasterville. Daniel Stoltzfus also faces charges of criminal conspiracy and statutory sexual assault, according to a criminal complaint filed by police in Bucks County.
The 18-year-old’s parents, Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus of Quarryville, are charged with endangering the welfare of children.
A Pennsylvania couple is accused of child endangerment after police said they gave away their 14-year-old daughter to a man who helped them financially.
One of Kaplan’s neighbours, Jen Betz, told ABC: “I saw a couple girls last week standing in the driveway”. The girl has 2 children, a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old.
The teen’s parents and her nine sisters also lived in Kaplan’s home.
Kaplan, as well as Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, are being held in lieu of $1 million bail, the AP reported. The Washington Post goes on to report that no lawyer information for any of the three individuals appears to be listed on court documents.
He faces charges of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and unlawful contact with a minor, CNN reported.
Lower Southampton Lt. Ted Krimmel says police had a search warrant for the entire property. 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. “I just felt like I wasn’t going through another summer where everybody should be outside kind of thing and not see those little girls again”.
Once their farm was saved, Daniel Stoltzfus, now 43, did some internet research and concluded that it was legal to give their daughter to Kaplan, Heckler said. The teenager’s mother allegedly knew that her daughter was having sexual intercourse with Kaplan, but did not make any attempt to have her removed from the man’s house.
Kaplan’s next-door neighbor, Anthony Zampirri Sr., told the Daily Beast that he called police as early as 2013. She said she called Bucks County Children & Youth on Wednesday because she was concerned about the girls – some 7 or 8, some young teens – she saw at his house, which she noticed had boarded windows and high weeds.
Savilla Stoltzfus, 42, has been charged in connection with the alleged abuse by Lee Kaplan. He says to his knowledge, they have not found anything in terms of any bodies. The lawsuit, which was dismissed later that year, said they operated a metalworking business on their property.
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“You knew something was wrong”, he said.
