Officers responding to a dilapidated property in Hamden, Ohio, were horrified to find 16 children living in appalling conditions, surrounded by human waste, and uttered just one haunting word upon arrival: 'disgusting.'
Four Adults Charged with Child Endangerment
Elizabeth Siders, 33, her husband Gary Siders Jr., 36, and his parents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, have each been charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangering. The children, aged 18 months to 18 years, were allegedly confined to a single room day and night for at least four years, according to officials.
The oldest child, an 18-year-old with developmental disabilities, could not write her name, and several children were incapable of speech. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called the evidence 'beyond comprehension' and warned that if the rescue had been delayed 24 hours, 'there was a very high probability that we'd be dealing with a death or multiple deaths of these children.'
Conditions Worse Than Livestock
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the scene as 'disgusting,' stating, 'Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children.' The children were rescued on June 30, and Ohio is reviewing a proposed $1 million emergency funding package for them.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer characterized the case as an 'intra-family situation,' not human trafficking, with the suspects being the 'grandma, grandpa, father and mother.' All four pleaded not guilty during their arraignment on Wednesday, with bond set at $300,000 each.
Mother Seeks Reunification
Elizabeth Siders, the mother of all 16 children, filed a court request seeking release to reunite with her children. Her attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, stated, 'Through conversations with Counsel, the Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children. She understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court.' Stolly added that she 'did not ask when she was getting out of jail' but immediately asked about the children.
Investigators revealed that Elizabeth Siders was 15 when she married Gary Siders Jr., giving birth to their first child two months later. Her brother, Jeremy Russell, claimed in a social media post that she was 'indoctrinated' during her teenage years, saying the psychological control was '100 percent real.' Other relatives suggested she had a 'difficult home life' and fled to be with Gary Siders Jr. and his parents.
