Pennsylvania - Authorities in Pennsylvania have charged a man with raping a teenage girl with whom he fathered two children after receiving her as a "gift" from her parents.
Police arrested Lee Kaplan, 51, in the town of Feasterville - around 30km northeast of Philadelphia - on Thursday on charges including statutory sexual assault and corruption of a minor.
Officials acting on a tip Thursday found Kaplan at his home along with the girls, ranging in age from six months to 18 years. The 18-year-old told police that she and Kaplan have a 3-year-old and a six-month-old.
The teen's parents and nine other girls, her alleged sisters, also lived in Kaplan's home.
Officials are trying to verify who the parents of the other children found at the home are. The teenager's parents told police the other nine girls in the house were their children, but no birth certificates or Social Security cards could be located to confirm that.
Child welfare authorities removed the young mother, her two young daughters and the nine girls.
Authorities allege in an affidavit that the girl's father told an officer he gave his 14-year-old daughter to Kaplan after researching the legality of such an action online.
The victim's parents, Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, gave her to Kaplan four years ago in gratitude "for helping (the) family out of financial ruin," according to criminal complaints.
Her parents have also been arrested, news reports said. They and Kaplan are being held on $1 million bail each.
The Stoltzfuses told police they were going to lose their farm until Kaplan "comes along and gives them money somehow," Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler told the Inquirer.
The teen previously lived in an Amish town in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with her parents and siblings before the family was kicked out of the community for unknown reasons, the authorities said.
Although Kaplan and the 18-year-old were not married, they acted as husband and wife, officials said.
The girls rarely went outside, neighbours told local media.
None of the children appears to have attended school and it was unclear if they had ever been to a doctor. However, officials said they saw no visible signs of abuse or poor health.
The authorities said an anonymous phone call had tipped them off.
Local media identified the caller as Jen Betz, a neighbour. She told television station WPVI she had seen several young girls living in the home all wearing blue dresses and appearing afraid.
Betz said she called authorities because was concerned about the young girls she saw outside the house, which she said had boarded windows and high weeds.
“They're so sad and fearful every time I see them. That's what made me call,” she said Saturday. “I've been telling my husband for years 'Something isn't right, something isn't right.'“
On Saturday, police and dogs scoured the home's backyard for evidence. Lt. Ted Krimmel of the Lower Southampton police department said authorities waited until dawn so they would be able to search the property in daylight.
“We have a search warrant for the entire property,” he said. “There are dogs searching for evidence.”
When police entered the home Thursday, “all the children were running around,” Krimmel said. “Some were hiding. They were well-behaved, but scared.”
WPVI-TV reported that the Stoltzfuses 19-year-old son, John, told the station at the house Friday night that his folks are “good parents.”
AP and Xinhua