Parents who 'gifted' children to man plead guilty to child endangerment

BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. -- (WPMT) -- The former Lancaster County parents who allegedly gifted several of their children to a Bucks County man have pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges.

Savilla Stoltzfus, 43, and Daniel Stoltzfus, 52, plead no contest Thursday in Bucks County court to endangering the welfare of children.

Lee Kaplan, 52, of Feasterville, befriended the Stoltzfuses, an Amish family who at the time resided in Quarryville, Lancaster County. Kaplan supported them financially and steered them away from the Amish life, prosecutors said. In return, Kaplan was “gifted” some of their nine daughters.

In all, eleven females were found living in Kaplan's home in June 2016. Authorities believe six of the girls were sexually assaulted.

Prosecutors say that Daniel Stoltzfus also gave his wife, Savilla, to Kaplan in hopes that they would have children and “strengthen” the Stoltzfus bloodlines.

Kaplan is accused of taking the Stoltzfus's eldest daughter, who was 14 at the time, as his wife. He raped her repeatedly over a series of years, in which time she gave birth to two children.

By pleading guilty, the Stoltzfus's acknowledged that they knew Kaplan was having sex with their eldest daughter while she was a minor, according to prosecutors.