Neighbors have bought, burned and buried the house of a couple facing federal charges after kidnapping a pair of New York Amish girls.

The (Syracuse) Post-Standard reports Jamie and Kimberly Matthews of Hermon, N.Y., found the property to be an ugly reminder of secrets and exploitation.

Stephen Howells II and Nicole Vaisey were arrested in August on charges of abducting two girls from a roadside produce stand in Heuvelton, N.Y. They were later indicted on several counts of federal child pornography charges involving six children.

“My kids still have problems at night,” said Jamie Matthews, noting his children were not victims. “They’ve each woken up three or four times with nightmares thinking about things. We didn’t want to be sitting on our deck looking over at all of it.”

A week after the arrests, the couple asked Howells’ brother about buying the property. By September Matthews paid $10,000 cash for six acres and buildings, and $1,000 to pay taxes.

The Matthews thought about inviting the community — including the Amish — to the fire, but ended up doing a controlled burn with the local volunteer fire department Nov. 23. Jamie Matthews borrowed a bulldozer and excavater, buried the rubble and uprooted trees that had shielded the old house.

Vehicles no longer slow to gawk at the infamous location.

“We don’t have to be reminded of tragedy every day,” said Rachel White, who lives nearby. “We were sick to our stomachs for quite a while.”