Suspect in Pa. girl 'gifting' case, Lee Kaplan, gets mental evaluation

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Thursday, May 18, 2017
Suspect in Pa. girl 'gifting' case gets mental evaluation
Suspect in Pa. girl 'gifting' case gets mental evaluation. Sarah Bloomquist reports during Action News at Noon on May 18, 2017.

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Pennsylvania man accused of sexually assaulting six girls in the same family is being evaluated to determine if he's mentally competent to stand trial and, possibly, for an insanity defense.

Ryan Hyde, the defense attorney for 52-year-old Lee Donald Kaplan, says the testing began Tuesday.

Hyde says the Feasterville man claims he's innocent. He's accused of fathering two children with a then-14-year-old girl who had been "gifted" to him for helping her parents financially and that he sexually assaulted five others.

Hyde says Kaplan maintains the mother of his children is his wife and that he didn't touch the others.

Hyde says he's filed notice with the court in case the evaluation determines Kaplan is either unfit for trial or was legally insane when the alleged abuse occurred.

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