Four members of the same family were prosecuted in Ohio, United States, following the discovery of 16 children who were living in extreme conditions of neglect inside a dilapidated house in the town of Hamden, where, according to authorities, they had allegedly been kept locked up for nearly four years.
The defendants are Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders, identified as the parents and grandparents of the minors. All face more than a dozen felony charges related to child endangerment. During their first court appearance, a $300,000 cash bond was set for each of them, and they were prohibited from having contact with each other or with the children; it is currently unknown if they have legal representation.
You might be interested in: Young man rescued alive after being trapped under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela
The case came to light while agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office were conducting a separate investigation. Upon entering the property, they found 16 minors, between 18 months and 18 years old, living in conditions that Sheriff Ryan Cain described as “repugnant.”
As explained, the house was full of human excrement and there are indications that the children remained locked in a room of barely 3.6 by 3.6 meters for almost four years.
More Read
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the scene as the worst he has witnessed in his career and asserted that it was a case of “pure evil.” The minors were transported to hospitals to receive medical attention; some have already been discharged, but one remained in intensive care and two others had to be airlifted to trauma centers due to the severity of their injuries.
Children did not speak, did not go to school, and remained hidden
Authorities reported that several of the minors showed a severe developmental delay; some could not communicate at all and others had very limited language. None were enrolled in school and the oldest, an 18-year-old young woman with an intellectual disability, did not even know how to write her own name.
The investigation indicates that the family moved through different parts of Ohio before settling about four years ago in Hamden, a community of fewer than a thousand inhabitants located about 96 kilometers southeast of Columbus. According to Prosecutor Wilson, the adults managed to keep the children hidden during all that time.
A relative, Tessi Siders, stated that she had not seen the defendants for at least eight years and claimed she was unaware of the size of the family: “I knew they had children, but I never imagined there were so many,” she stated.
As the investigation continues, the authorities assured that they will seek for those responsible to face the full weight of the law and will guarantee the protection and recovery of the 16 rescued minors.
