Holding girls in a basement for sex is nothing new in the States, and now we have another example of a sick, twisted mind at work.

On Saturday, Lee Kaplan, 51, was charged with sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses after authorities acted on a tip from a neighbour. 12 girls, ranging from six months to 18 years old, were found living in his basement.

While one girl was apparently a “gift” from her cash-strapped parents, the 18-year-old was mother to the three-year-old and six month old.

Robert Hoopes, Lower Southampton’s director of public safety, reported that:

They were living in the basement, they were hiding in the chicken coop. The children apparently were home-schooled, musical instruments and homework were found in the basement.

While police and their search dogs sifted through the property for more clues, authorities were trying to determine the identity of the other nine girls and whether they were all possibly related.

The parents of the teen who was gifted spoke about their situation, saying they did it around three years ago after researching the legality of it on the Internet. The couple were broke and poised to lose their farm. USA Today reported that:

Daniel Stoltzfus faces charges of conspiracy to commit statutory sexual assault and children endangerment. His wife was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Kaplan and the couple were being held Sunday on $1 million bail each.

According to Hoopes, the Stoltzfus family was or had been Amish.

He dismissed claims from neighbors that they had been complaining about the living situation in the home for years.

“What kind of call did they (make)?” Hoopes asked. “That they saw Amish people? That’s the kind of calls we got. We didn’t get any child abuse calls. If it was a child abuse call we would have responded.”

He added that police had responded to a call regarding the house at least once in the past, but no probable cause for a search warrant was found. Hoopes said police were trying to determine whether the children were abused. They have now been placed in protective custody.

The children did not appear malnourished and the house was in relatively good condition, he said. The house had a greenhouse, and food was being grown. The chickens were taken by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Kaplan apparently made money selling model train equipment and had an “elaborate setup” worth thousands of dollars, Hoopes said.

[source: usatoday]