Three Held in Pennsylvania Rape Case of Teen Amish Girl 'Gifted' to Man

HARRISBURG, PA. | BY DAVID DEKOK, Reuters

Three people in Pennsylvania have been charged in a bizarre statutory rape case where a 14-year-old Amish girl was "gifted" to a much older man who helped her parents out of financial distress, according to court records released on Friday.

Child welfare workers in Bucks County found 11 girls between the ages of 6 months and 18 years living in the house of 51-year-old Lee Kaplan in the town of Feasterville on Thursday. All are believed to be Amish.

Police on Thursday arrested Kaplan as well as Daniel Stoltzfus, 43, and his wife Savilla Stoltzfus, 42, who are the parents of the teenage girl.

Kaplan is charged with 10 counts of various sexual offenses, eight of them felonies, including statutory rape. Daniel Stoltzfus is charged with conspiracy to commit statutory sexual assault. Both he and Savilla Stoltzfus are also charged with endangering the welfare of children.

They are each being held on $1 million bond. It was not immediately clear if they had attorneys.

Police said in court papers that the Stoltzfus couple was grateful to Kaplan for saving their farm from foreclosure. They admitted to giving their then 14-year-old daughter to Kaplan after they found information on the internet suggesting this would be legal.

Hold on.... they are on the internet? That sounds very un-Amish.

Kaplan impregnated the 14-year-old almost immediately, according to court papers, and again when she was 17 years-old. The girl is now 18, police said.

Police and the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. Court papers did not say where the other girls came from.

The three will face a preliminary hearing on the charges August 2.

(Reporting by David DeKok in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Editing by Curtis Skinner and Andrew Hay)

Escaped Chibok Girls Get to Finish Education in Oregon

BY ANN CURRY
NBC News

Warmly welcomed on her first day of school in America, 18-year-old Mercy Paul smiles brightly — showing no sign of her ordeal in northern Nigeria. She's started a new life at a boarding school in Canyonville, Oregon.

Just seven months ago she was one of the 276 mostly Christian girls kidnapped by Islamist terrorists called Boko Haram.

"There was no way for us to run away," she says. "They told us they would kill us."

With a licensed counselor at her side, Mercy tells us how the terrorists set the girls' school on fire, forced them onto trucks and drove them into the deep forest.

"I jumped," Mercy says, "not knowing if I would be able to walk or whether I would die."

Dozens of other girls also escaped, but more than 200 — some seen in this Boko Haram video — did not. The militants' leader said they had converted to Islam and would be sold "in the market."

Worldwide outrage sparked a "Bring Back Our Girls" movement, with some high-profile support.

Michelle Obama: "In these girls Barack and I see our own daughters. We see their hopes and dreams."

Mercy's dream now is to become a doctor. Learning a new language, and a new culture — basketball, air hockey, and yes, even Super Mario.

And she's excited that some of her Nigerian classmates will join her at school, with the help of the Christian group The Jubilee Campaign, which is raising funds so that all 57 girls who escaped can finish school in the U.S. Mercy's boarding school scholarship was provided by the Canyonville Christian Academy's Chibok Girls Scholarship Fund.

Canyonville Christian Academy

Mercy tells us she loves and misses her friends — her sisters — still being held captive, but asks for mercy for the men who are hurting them.

"In the bible God says that he can talk to people, even in their dreams," she tells us. "I pray that they find that god is forgiving and merciful and that they stop doing what it is that they're doing."

Her faith allows Mercy to smile ... and hope that she'll someday see the friends she left behind.

You are appropriately named, Mercy. I join you in that prayer and for those still in captivity. God bless you.

Anyone who wants to help fund the girl's education can contact the academy at the address or phone number below. Or, go to CCA and donate online.

Canyonville Christian Academy
Private School
Address: 250 E 1st St, Canyonville, OR 97417, United States

Phone:+1 541-839-4401

South African Public Broadcasting Network Head Given a Wife and 2 Cows

An investigation has been launched in South Africa into allegations that the head of SABC, the public broadcaster, was given a wife as a gift.

SABC Head Hlaudi Motsoeneng given a wife and 2 cows

The Commission for Gender Equality said it had received a complaint after it was reported that Hlaudi Motsoeneng was given a bride by traditional chiefs.

They were part of a cultural group asking for more programmes to be broadcast in the Venda language.

The government said their behaviour was "regrettable".

Mr Motsoeneng has not commented.

The incident is said to have occurred during his recent visit to the northern Limpopo province where he and other SABC executives met the Venda lobby group, Mudzi wa Vhurereli ha Vhavenda.

About 10 girls had paraded in front of him, Humbelani Nemakonde from the Mudzi group was quoted as saying in South Africa's Sowetan newspaper.

"He chose the one he liked.

"All the girls were there with their parents. Their parents knew what was going to happen and they all agreed."

The lucky bride

According to the Sowetan, Mr Motsoeneng chose a 23-year-old human resources management student who was pictured bare-breasted next to him.

He is also alleged to have been given a cow and a calf.

The South African women's ministry said it viewed the whole process as an abuse of cultural values.

"The use of women as gifts as if they were livestock is a serious regress and an insult to the gains of 20 years of democracy and freedom, particularly the contribution of women," a statement from the ministry said.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago told the BBC he was unaware of the Commission for Gender Equality's investigation and that if it had any issues, they should be taken up with the Venda group concerned.

But the Commission for Gender Equality spokesperson Javu Baloy told the BBC that letters had been sent to all those involved about the complaint and its recommendations would be made next month.