On this Father's Day 2016, I read a post online at PBS Newshour that made me feel incredibly sad. Last week, police arrested Lee Kaplan, 51 for statutory sexual assault after they found 12 young girls living in his Feasterville, Pennsylvania, house. The girls ranged in age from six months to 18 years. The 18-year-old girl (unrelated to Kaplan) told police that she and Kaplan had two children together, a six-month-old and a 3-year-old.
The prosecutor in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, also seeks additional charges of aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor against Kaplan.
Photo from Human Trafficking Awareness
All of the children found on Kaplan's farm were being home-schooled. My greatest fear for home-schooled children has always been the fact that no one in the community may know they even exist, or that they are maltreated, or that they are sexually abused. These children are "off the grid" without any protection.
One thing we know for sure: Kaplan and Stolzfus will not be receiving any "Father of the Year" awards.
The entire news report is here: Moritz-Rabson, D. (2016, June 18). Pennsylvania man arrested after 12 girls found inside house. Retrieved June 19, 2016, from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/pennsylvania-man-arrested-after-12-girls-found-inside-house/
For more information about trafficking in humans, see the Champion Foundation (Human Trafficking Awareness),