A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday sentenced a married couple to up to seven years in prison each for giving their oldest daughter to a cult-like figure who sexually assaulted the girl and her five sisters.

A neighbour said she had long felt that "something isn't right" at a Bucks County home where a man is accused of sexually assaulting a teenager whose parents police say gave her to him when she was 14.

Twelve children found at a Pennsylvania home have been placed in child protective custody, and the home's owner has been charged with sexual assault.