• U.S.

Pennsylvania Man Faces Charges After He Was Found Living With 12 Girls

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A Pennsylvania man faces several charges after authorities found him living with 12 girls whose ages ranged between six months to 18 years old.

Lee Kaplan, 51, was charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and other offenses after police followed up on a neighbor’s tip and made the discovery Thursday at his Feasterville home, the Associated Press reports.

The apparently home-schooled girls were “living in the basement” and “hiding in the chicken coop,” Robert Hoopes, Lower Southampton’s director of public safety, told USA Today. They were in relatively good condition, Hoopes said.

Authorities were working over the weekend to find answers as to how the dozen girls came under Kaplan’s care and to identify all the girls in the house.

An 18-year-old in the home told police she and Kaplan had a 3-year-old and a 6-month old child together, according to USA Today. The teenager was given to Kaplan as a “gift” from her biological parents, who told authorities they didn’t have enough money to raise her, the newspaper reports.

[USA Today]

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