A Pennsylvania couple has been charged with child endangerment for allegedly giving their teenage daughter away to a friend, according to the Associated Press.
Daniel Stoltzfus, the father of the girl, now 18, said in an affidavit that he had “given away” the girl four years ago to Lee Kaplan, 51, in thanks for financial help. Stoltzfus said that he had done some online research and believed it was legal, though he didn’t say what specifically had led him to believe that.
He told police that he had given his daughter to Kaplan after he “came out of the blue” and saved them from losing their farm, Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler told the AP. However, the Stoltzfus family appeared to be living with Kaplan.
Officials acting on a tip raided Kaplan’s home in Feasterville, PA, on Thursday, where they found the young woman, identified in court documents as K.S., along with 11 other girls. The teenager said that two of the children, a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old, were her own with Kaplan.
Stoltzfus and his wife, Savilla, said the other nine children are theirs, but didn’t have any documentation for the children. The family claims they are Amish.
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Criminal complaints against the Stoltzfuses also list a second girl, identified only as T.S., to have been "gifted" to Kaplan.
Kaplan has been charged with statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault, while the Soltzfuses have been charged with child endangerment. Daniel Stoltzfus has also been charged with conspiracy of statutory sexual assault. The bail for all three is set at $1 million.
The children have been moved into protective custody.