Couple Who 'Gifted' Daughter To Feasterville Man Blames Financial Troubles
By Anita Oh
FEASTERVILLE, Pa. (CBS) -- One house. One 51-year-old homeowner. Twelve young girls living in the basement.
It's the discovery rocking this small neighborhood in Feasterville, after someone alerted authorities that Lee Kaplan fathered two children with a girl who was only 14 when she first became pregnant.
On Monday, investigators removed some musical instruments from the home to bring to the girls who are being interviewed by authorities. Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, the parents of the eldest girl, now 18, admitted to police that they "gifted," their daughter to Kaplan for helping them out of financial ruin.
Court records show that the Stoltzfus family operated a metal business on their Kirkwood farm, which grew to about ten employees in 2003.
In a former lawsuit, against the Old Order Amish Helping Program, the couple alleged Amish leaders, upset with the growth of the business, forced employees to resign and threatened that they would be shunned from the Amish community otherwise.
That's when the Stoltzfus family claims it cut ties with the faith.
The lawsuit alleges the non-profit then canceled the couple's required insurance policy on the mortgage, claiming it was only for Amish members. Without insurance, Amish leaders reportedly claimed that the mortgage was in default and demanded full payment.
Though court documents show the couple paid a monthly mortgage for about a year after that, they stopped when Amish leaders allegedly raised the interest rate on only the couples' mortgage, which increased the payment by $400.
The Stoltzfus family tried multiple times to block the sheriff's sale, and later an eviction, but failed.
