For years, neighbors in Feasterville, Penn. reportedly had a strange feeling about Lee Kaplan, the middle-aged guy living alone with a house full of girls who were rarely seen outside. When one of the neighbors finally called police, the discovery was probably even stranger than they expected.
Kaplan, 51, was arrested this week on felony statutory sexual assault charges, according to CBS News. Police say that he was living with an 18-year-old woman who'd been "gifted" to him four years earlier by the girl's parents, and that he'd fathered two children with her while she was still underage. There were reportedly a total of 12 girls living in Kaplan's house, ranging in ages from 6 months to 18 years old.
CBS Philly reported that the 18-year-old was given to Kaplan by her parents at the age of 14 in a business arrangement that involved "saving the family from financial ruin." The father told police he thought it was legal after researching it online, according to an affidavit. The victim's mother and father were both arrested and charged with crimes that included conspiracy to commit endangering the welfare of a child, criminal conspiracy of sexual assault, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Jen Betz, the neighbor who called police, told WPBF that she couldn't stay silent anymore.
"I just made the call. I don't know, just an instinct. I just feel like I wasn't going through another summer, where everybody should be outside and I not see those little girls out again.
Police believe all of the girls came from a nearby Amish community. ABC News reported that the parents of the girl who was gifted were kicked out of that community for unknown reasons. It's not clear yet if Kaplan is accused of abusing any of the other children.
