October 31, 2016
Law enforcement officials in Bucks County charged Lee Kaplan, 51, with a wealth of new crimes Monday after investigators found he may have sexually assaulted five more girls at his Feasterville home.
Kaplan, of the 400 block of Old Street Road, originally was arrested in June — and charged with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a minor, indecent assault of a minor, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor — after 12 girls between the ages of six months and 18 years old were found living on his property.
According to police, Kaplan has admitted to having sex with one of the girls when she was 14. That alleged victim, now 18 years old, allegedly was 'gifted' to Kaplan by a couple who Kaplan helped financially, police said.
That alleged victim also is the mother of two of Kaplan's children, police said.
According to court documents released Monday, Kaplan has been charged with two additional counts of rape of a child, as well as statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse and related offenses stemming from the discovery of five more alleged victims.
Court documents state these five girls – now between the ages of 8-17 years old – each allege Kaplan repeatedly sexually assaulted them, beginning when they were as young as six-years-old.
"He was grooming them, just so he could have sex with them," said Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, in an interview Monday. "It's horrible, just horrible."
The oldest alleged victim — the girl 'gifted' to Kaplan when she was 14 — said the man began abusing her when she was 10. She reportedly told police that Kaplan considered all six child victims to be his "wives."
One alleged victim, now 17, told police that when she was no older than 8 years old, her father — who is not named in court documents — gave her to Kaplan in marriage. According to court documents, Kaplan waited until the girl was 14 before "Kaplan took her as his 'wife' and the marriage was 'consummated.'"
She also told police Kaplan considered the girls to be his wives, and court documents note, he told the girls that "this was what God wanted."
Another alleged victim, now 15, told police she was 11 the first time Kaplan allegedly raped her. She allegedly was abused at least once a month for as long as three years, police said. A 13-year-old girl told police that beginning at 10 years old, she allegedly was raped by Kaplan about once a week until his arrest in June, and two other victims were abused by Kaplan before they had even reached the age of 10, according to court documents.
One girl, now 10, told police that Kaplan started to abuse her when she was just six years old and continued for four years, while, according to court documents, the youngest victim, now 8, said Kaplan began raping regularly after her eighth birthday.
Kaplan is currently in police custody and, according to Weintraub, if convicted of all charges, Kaplan could be facing "approximately 212 to 424 years" in prison.
