A couple accused of kidnapping two Amish girls from a produce stand before shackling and sexually abusing them have been offered a plea deal that would spare the girls from testifying . Stephen Howells , 39 , and his 25-year-old girlfriend Nicole Vaisey , from Hermon , New York , were charged last summer with sexually exploiting the Amish girls and other children . They each face kidnapping and federal child exploitation charges after police say they abducted the girls , then seven and 12 , from their family 's farm roadside vegetable stand on August 13 . On Tuesday , St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain said that the defendants were advised of the strength of the evidence and offered an agreement to plead guilty in both cases . Accused : Stephen Howells , 39 , and his 25-year-old girlfriend Nicole Vaisey have been offered a plea deal after being charged last summer with sexually exploiting two Amish girls and other children . Guilty pleas would mean the victims would n't have to testify , including others who are not publicly known , which Rain said is one of her biggest concerns . She declined to disclose the terms offered so it is not clear how much time the duo would serve . Their federal trial has been reset for July 6 on charges they coerced minors to make pornographic videos , and they also face kidnapping charges in state court . The Amish girls were abducted from the stand in rural Oswegatchie , near the Canadian border . The incident touched off a massive search in the community of about 4,000 people , but authorities 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 to produce a sketch of the older girl . Authorities say the girls were shackled to a bed and sexually abused before they were released 24 hours later and turned up safe at the door of a house in Bigelow , New York , belonging to Jeffrey and Pamela Stinson , who drove them home . Scene : The two girls , then aged seven and 12 , were abducted from this farm roadside stand in August . Fears : Authorities can be seen at the family 's farm after the abduction in Oswegatchie , near Canada 's border . Heroic : A day after the girls were abducted and sexually assaulted , they were left at Jeffrey and Pamela Stinson 's home 20 miles from their farm . The couple then returned the girls to their home . Howells , a registered nurse at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center , and Vaisey , a former dog groomer , were arrested on August 15 after voluntarily going to the sheriff 's office for an interview . This week , investigators told WWNY that Howells had planned to kill the girls and then bury their bodies to hide the crime but Vaisey convinced him to let them go . The original federal indictment said another young girl , now about 8 years old , also was sexually abused by the couple during the two-year span . Rain said the defendants have not yet responded to the offer and she declined to say how many victims they 've identified . 'We are still gathering evidence , ' she said . The latest federal indictment , based on computer videos taken from the couple 's rural home in Hermon , where authorities say the Amish girls were held , listed six victims . Sources close to the investigation also told WWNY that sexually disturbing video images involving several handicapped adults were found on the couple 's computer hard drive . 'Controlled ' : Howells dominated Vaisey in a sort of master-slave relationship , her lawyers have said . Locked up : Howells , formerly a registered nurse in Ogdensburg , New York , has three children of his own . Arrest : Vaisey , seen in August , and her boyfriend were arrested after voluntarily going for police interviews . 'Everyone is working toward finding a way of resolving this matter , ' said Vaisey 's attorney , Bradford Riendeau . ' A trial is one way . ' He declined to comment on the report from WWNY television that Howells considered killing the Amish girls and Vaisey convinced him to let them go . Riendeau has maintained that Howells dominated Vaisey in a sort of master-slave relationship . During a hearing in August , Vaisey said that she and Howells had been on a 'shopping trip ' for slaves on the day of the kidnapping . Calls to Howells ' attorney , federal public defender Randi Bianco , were not immediately returned . The couple 's house was later bought by a neighbor . It was burned down as a fire department training exercise and the debris cleared . Howells has three children of his own .
Stephen Howells and Nicole Vaisey , from Albany , New York , were charged last summer with sexually exploiting the Amish girls and other children . The Amish girls , aged 7 and 12 , 'were abducted from a farm roadside stand , shackled and sexually abused before being released the next day '