XPost: wny.general, alt.guns, soc.men   
   XPost: alt.survival   
   From: wsmith@cbs.com   
      
   CANTON, N.Y. (AP) — The northern New York couple charged in the   
   kidnapping of two young Amish sisters were prowling for easy   
   targets and sexually abused the girls before letting them go,   
   authorities say.   
      
   The couple were arrested and arraigned Friday on charges of   
   kidnapping with the intent to physically or sexually abuse the 7-   
   year-old and 12-year-old sisters.   
      
   St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain said Saturday   
   that the girls were sexually abused, and the county sheriff said   
   Stephen Howells Jr. and Nicole Vaisey may have planned to abduct   
   other children.   
      
   "We felt that there was the definite potential that there was   
   going to be other victims," St. Lawrence County Sheriff Kevin   
   Wells said.   
      
   Howells, 39, and Vaisey, 25, are being held without bail and   
   have a preliminary court appearance scheduled Thursday.   
      
   The sheriff said the Hermon couple "were targeting   
   opportunities" and did not necessarily grab the girls because   
   they were Amish.   
      
   "There was a lot of thought process that went into this," Wells   
   said. "They were looking for opportunities to victimize."   
      
   The sisters were abducted Wednesday from a farm stand in front   
   of the family's home in Oswegatchie, near the Canadian border.   
   They were set free by their captors about 24 hours later and   
   turned up safe at the door of a house 15 miles from where they   
   were taken.   
      
   Vaisey's lawyer, Bradford Riendeau told The New York Times that   
   Howells had abused Vaisey and treated her submissively. He said   
   she made a "voluntary statement" to investigators after her   
   arrest and was obtaining an order of protection against him.   
      
   "She appears to have been the slave and he was the master,"   
   Riendeau told the newspaper.   
      
   There was no answer Saturday at the St. Lawrence County Conflict   
   Defender's Office, which is representing Howells.   
      
   Wells said the girls were able to provide details to   
   investigators about their time in captivity.   
      
   The Associated Press generally does not identify people who may   
   be victims of sexual abuse.   
      
   The kidnappings touched off a massive search in the family's   
   remote farming community. Searchers scoured the community of   
   about 4,000 people, but were hampered by a lack of photos of the   
   girls.   
      
   The Amish typically avoid modern technology, and the family had   
   to work with an artist who spoke their language, a German   
   dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch, to produce a sketch of the   
   older girl.   
      
   http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Prosecutor-Couple-   
   sexually-abused-2-Amish-sisters-5693767.php#photo-6735098   
      
           
      
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