Official: Children found in Feasterville home now at 'safe house'

Violins, clarinets, trumpets, and sheet music were found in the house, along with evidence of schoolwork, a Hebrew learning book, and tens of thousands of dollars' worth of model trains.

After completing a search of the Feasterville home where police say 51-year-old Lee Kaplan was living with 12 females, including two children he fathered with a teen "gifted" to him by her parents, investigators found no immediate evidence of abuse.

The girls "seemed fine" when questioned by authorities, said Robert Hoopes, director of public safety for Lower Southampton Township. As for the condition of the home, he said, "For as many people that were in the house, it wasn't terrible."

Detectives continued Tuesday to piece together the relationships among Kaplan, the females, and Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus of Quarryville, Lancaster County.

Kaplan remained jailed on statutory rape and other charges. The Stoltzfuses are jailed on child endangerment charges. They have told police that 10 of the females were their daughters and that they gave their then-14-year old daughter to Kaplan four years ago to thank him for helping them out of debt.

Kaplan called her his wife. She, now 18, told authorities she considers him her husband, Hoopes said.

"She loved him and still does," Hoopes said.

Savilla Stoltzfus spent most of her time living at Kaplan's house, he said, while Daniel Stoltzfus occasionally visited but lived at the family's Quarryville farm. Kaplan had a metal business with Daniel Stoltzfus and also sold model trains.

Police say they have not confirmed if the females found in the house, other than Kaplan's two children, are siblings, but they do know for sure that at least two were the Stoltzfuses' daughters. There is no evidence that the arrangement extended beyond Kaplan and the Stoltzfuses, Hoopes said.

At least nine of the children were taken to a "safe house" in Lancaster by county Children and Youth Services officials. Hoopes said he was not sure if the 18-year-old and her two children were with them.

The girls returned to Bucks County Court on Tuesday for a child welfare hearing, and then were returned to Lancaster County.

The children will stay at the safe house there until Children and Youth Services decides to place them in a home, Hoopes said. Child-welfare hearings are not open to the public and he could not comment on the proceedings.

"It's just a matter of time passing and people assessing what the needs of the children are," said Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler.

Lower Southampton police have disputed a claim by neighbor Kevin Rihl that he told officials a year ago about disturbing activity at the house.

Hoopes confirmed that Rihl had once contacted police, but said it was more than a year ago and that the neighbor did not allege child abuse, just that the girls were not attending school - an account that matches Rihl's description of his complaint.

Hoopes said police investigated at the time but found nothing improper, and told Rihl that.

Police also had received some complaints about nuisances such as high grass and a swimming pool at the house.

Hoopes said the girls did not appear malnourished and had stayed inside most of the time.

When questioned by police, he said, the children asked only to have their musical instruments retrieved from the house and brought to them, which authorities did.

"They didn't really have any comments, negative or positive," he said.

Officials said it might take weeks to sort out precisely what had transpired at the home. They plan to reinterview the girls in a few weeks.

"Obviously, the welfare of the girls is paramount in this," the district attorney said. "This has obviously got to be an enormous challenge for them."

jmcdaniel@philly.com610-313-8205@McDanielJustine