jen betts said she would see young girls in blue dresses standing outside. >> whatever i would see these small children, little girls never any boys, my heart would break, because they looked unhappy, fearing their lives. >> stoltzfus are the parents of the other nine children in the home. they are in the care of the children and youth services in lancaster county. jeff chirico has the latest. >> i've been telling my husband and for years, something isn't right. >> reporter: jen betts said she filed complaints before but never had proof something criminal was happening inside the house she passed each day. the color of the shutters and van in the driveway matched the faces of the children who lived here. >> i saw girls last week who looked unhappy and sad in the blue dresses. >> i thought was odd the way they were dressed. because we're not an amish neighborhood. betts complained 6 months ago when the infant was brought home. nothing happened. finally she called child services. news of what lee kaplan did inside these walls leaves them struggling to understand. neighbors say they are rel

i said how many kids he have. >> someone would call jen betts the hero of this story.ust her motherly instinct. >> i just made the call. i just, i don't know. just an instinct. i felt like i wasn't going through another summer where everybody should be outside kind of thing and not see those little girls again. >> listen to your gut. for sure. joe holden with our affiliate kyw there. all three adults are being held on $1 million bail each. >>> a 5-year-old boy is recovering in a denver hospital after he was attacked by a mountain lion. it happened last night near aspen, colorado. the local sheriff's office says the boy was playing outside with his older brother, when the lion attack. the boy's mother ran outside the house and pulled him away from the animal. this is video of the type of mountain lion we're talking about. the one involved in this attack was hunted down by authorities and killed. and we know the boy is in fair condition now. and his mother was treated for minor injuries and released. yes, moms -- will fight whatever we have to for our kids, won't we? tha

it's the reason why over the years neighbors like jen betts said they contacted police. >> you can't just go into somebody's house. like there wasn't enough proof i guess. >> reporter: but betts's motherly instincts wouldn't ease up. and on wednesday she contacted child services. >> they just looked sad and fearful all the time you'd see them. that's what made me call. >> reporter: police arrested 51-year-old lee kaplan. 12 girls ranging from six months to 18 years old were found in the home. according to the affidavit, kaplan admitted to sexually assaulting the eldest girl that resulted in the birth of two children. >> what i have thought in the news is really unbelievable for me. >> reporter: police also arrested a couple from this home in lancaster county. they're charged with giving their teenage daughter to kaplan, allegedly in exchange for saving them from financial hardship. according to the district attorney, those parents claim all of the children except the two allegedly fathered by kaplan are theirs. but there were no birth certificates to support those claims. >> you go w

. >> reporter: finally, jen betts called authorities. >> looking at these little girl's faces i knewomething was going on in there. i just knew it. >> when investigators arrived. >> they're afraid of the police. they're very sheltered, these children. >> among them a now 18-year-old girl who told police kaplan was the father of her 3-year-old and 6-month-old daughters. the girl's father says his then 14-year-old daughter was gifted to lee kaplan, and thanks for helping the family out of financial ruin. older court documents obtained by nbc news show that the father filed for bankruptcy in 2008. an area resident who doesn't want her face shown says she saw kaplan come into the grocery store where she worked in 2011, with two young girls in long blue dresses. >> that he was hiding in plain sight. it seems like everyone in the area knew who he was. they saw some girls riding their bikes in the neighborhood in the garden. >> in the heart of a seemingly perfect community. police found an elaborate toy train system inside the basement of this home today alongside air mattresses where the g

. >> reporter: jen betts said she filed complaints before but never had proof that something criminal was happening inside the house she passed each day. >> i saw a couple of girls last week standing in the driveway, they just looked unhappy and sad again in the blue dresses. >> they would be in their dresses, and stuff, i thought was odd, the way they were dwressed we're -- dressed. betts said she complained 6 months ago when the infant was brought to the home. stunned neighbors say police rescued 12 girls thursday news of what lee kaplan did inside the walls leaves them struggling to understand. >> who would give up their own child and for money, like are you serious? >> reporter: as police investigate neighbors say they are relieved that years of questioning are over and the children are safe. >> i was crying all morning, i feel like finally, finally they will get to where they need to be and this alleged abuse stops. >> reporter: police have marked the home off as a crime scene. betts said she was intent on trying to figure out whatever is going on inside the house, that two years

. >> reporter: on this quiet street in bucks county, pennsylvania, jen betts said she nude something wasn't right at the home. >> 51-year-old lee kaplan. >> i knew it. that's what i'm going through. i saw these little girls. i saw their face. i saw them often enough that you know i knew they were crying for help. >> reporter: calling a child abuse hot line to report certifications about the home where she saw several girls all in blue dresses. police scouring the property where they say 12 girls ranging from six months to 18 years old lived with kaplin. the 18-year-old authorities say telling police kaplan fathered her two children. he now faces charges including statutory sexual assault. her parents who authorities say arranged for the then 14-year-old girl to live with can lan both clarnled with endangering the welfare of a child. police say they claim the other nine girls found in the home are also their daughters. jen betz says she called the child abuse line once before a few years ago. >> i've been looking at them for years going by that house. i feel as though i could have don

let's listen to jen betts. >> my gut was telling me to confirm what i was thinking. i just knew.er, significantly older man, you know, any man regardless of what they look like, would have this amount of children all in blue dresses, never outside the house that i could regularly, looking so scared. >> reporter: once again, jen, betz saw blue dresses whenever she saw the young girls, blue doors. there was a blue light shining in the backyard. everything was blue. and that told her there's something really wrong here, ashleigh. >> the something really wrong is that you have to have a court, a judge sign off and parents sign off if you want to marry your under 16-year-old off to someone. that's pennsylvania code. so they are in a lot of trouble. jean casarez, thank you for that. we'll continue to follow that story. i also have this into the show as well. >>> donald trump's newly fired campaign manager given first on the record statement. awfully short. i stand by the fact mr. trump is a great candidate and is better than hillary clinton ever will be. end of quote. not end of story.

. >> reporter: neighbor jen betts felt she had to call authorities. the 18-year-old parents, also in custody, are believed to have been members of the amish community and face child endangerment charges. police reached out to sources with knowledge of the amish community for help in the case. authorities don't know how long the girls were living in kaplan's house and are holding all three adults on $1 million bail. alex, neighbors say the girls' behavior was meek and skittish and would run away from the door. so far kaplan has been charged with three counts of assault as well as unlawful contact with and corruption of a minor. police are still investigating and looking for any answers why this happened, when and for how long, alex. >> that last point is what i'm most curious about. was there any indication, these neighbors with whom you spoke, how long they observed this weird behavior? was it years? was it months? is there any timeline there? >> reporter: that's a great question. that's what we're piecing together. that's also what police are piecing