Neighbors Say They Called Police Repeatedly Before 12 Girls Rescued From Bucks County Home
By Jan Carabeo
FEASTERVILLE, Pa. (CBS) -- Days after 12 girls were rescued from a Bucks County home, neighbors say they were calling police for years saying something was wrong.
Now they want to know why authorities did not react sooner.
Police executed a search warrant over the weekend and meticulously went through every room in the house.
Officers and dogs also searched the backyard.
All of this unfolded in front of stunned neighbors, many who for a long time suspected something was wrong.
Some tell Eyewitness News they contacted authorities years ago to voice their concerns.
Police arrested 51-year-old Lee Kaplan and charged him with a number of crimes including sexual assault.
Officials say he fathered two children, a three-year-old and an infant with a now 18-year-old woman who lived there.
Authorities say he first started having sex with the victim when she was just 14.
Authorities responded to the home on Old Street Road after receiving an anonymous tip about child abuse late last week.
Inside, they say they found 12 females hiding in a basement chicken coop, ranging in age from six months to 18-years-old.
Even stranger, police say the 18-year-old may have been given to Kaplan by her birth parents as some sort of business agreement.
They told police they were going to lose their farm until Kaplan "came out of the blue."
Those parents have been arrested as well.
Police say Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus admitted to gifting their daughter. They told police they thought the agreement was legal after researching it online.
This morning, neighbors want to know why more wasn't done earlier.
Kevin Rihl says, "I had no idea there was 12 girls living in there because he only let three out at a time, and even that was very limited. I waved once and they just put their head down and walked away. I just thought something was off."
"I just made the call, it was instinct. I wasn't going through another summer where everyone should be outside and not see those little girls again," says Jen Betz.
Lower Southampton Township Director of Public Safety Robert Hoopes says, "This time it is different because they found out this girl was 14-years-old, that had two children. That gives you probable cause to go into the house. "
Police say the children found appear to be Amish. They are bringing in specialists to speak with them.
According to police, Daniel and Savilla say the rest of the children are theirs, but police are working to confirm that because they say they have no birth certificates or social security cards, and none are enrolled in school.
It is unknown if any of the other children were subjected to abuse.
Kaplan and Daniel and Savilla are all being held on $1 million bail.