Philadelphia Couple Gave Daughters As 'Gifts' To Self-Proclaimed Prophet, Faces Up To 7 Years In Prison

A Pennsylvania judge Wednesday sentenced a Philadelphia couple to a term of up to seven years in prison for ‘gifting’ their daughters to a 51-year-old man, according to reports. The couple, Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, had given nine of their daughters to Lee Kaplan who reportedly even fathered two-children with their eldest daughter. The couple was arrested in June 2016.

The case made headlines after the police found Kaplan, a former business associate living with 12 females at his Feasterville home in Pennsylvania. He was accused of having sexual relations with six of the nine daughters of the Stoltzfus couple and claimed to have been married to them. Kaplan was convicted of 17 charges including child rape, statutory sexual assault and indecent assault on June 17.

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Authorities said Kaplan had preyed on the Stoltzfus couple and convinced them he was a prophet of God. The couple was given the maximum possible penalty by Judge Jeffrey Finley who called the act “unacceptable in any civilized society" adding, "It would be higher if I had the ability to do so. This goes beyond the aggravated sentencing range,” reported NBC 10. During the sentencing, Finley said he could not accept the idea that parents would treat their children like “what some in the community might call sex slaves.”

Daniel, who pleaded no contest, was sentenced to three-and-half years in prison before he becomes eligible for a parole while his 43-year-old wife was ordered to serve at least three years.

Authorities alleged the girls' parents had first "gifted" their oldest daughter to Kaplan because he helped the family financially after they broke from their Amish faith. After his arrest, Daniel told the authorities that he gave away his daughters to Kaplan as he thought it was legal to do so, based on the research he had conducted online. The authorities found that Daniel's eldest daughter was given away when she was barely 14 years old and had reportedly conceived her first child at the same age.

While testifying before the court in April, Daniel said he had also "gifted" his wife to Kaplan "in hopes of strengthening the Stoltzfus bloodlines," according to a statement by the prosecutor’s office, CNN reported.

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Savilla had earlier testified that she knew about the sexual activity involving Kaplan and the girls, however, she believed it "could be a good thing." She too later moved into Kaplan’s home. During a trial of the case Wednesday, Savilla addressed to the judge and said: "I hope you may forgive me for putting my children at risk."

Several of the girls, now aged from 9 to 18, had earlier testified in May stating that Kaplan had sex with them and they considered him their husband. On Wednesday, during the trial of the case, one of the girls said she hoped the court would have mercy on her "beloved parents."

Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler said the sentences were just. “These children need time to heal and to learn in therapy about what’s supposed to be happening in the real world. Daniel and Savilla both committed heinous acts against their children by allowing this to happen,” she said, according to People.