Officials identified the defendants as Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. Each was ordered to remain in custody on a $300,000 cash bond
A relative of the family at the centre of an Ohio house of horrors says she never even got the chance to meet the children at the heart of one of the state’s most disturbing child abuse investigations.
“I knew little Gary had kids, yeah. I don’t remember meeting any of the kids, though,” Tessi Siders said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “I knew they had a lot of kids through family talking years ago, but there’s no way I thought they had that many kids.”
Her comments came after authorities revealed they had rescued 16 children from what officials described as appalling living conditions inside a rundown home in southern Ohio. They said it was an “intra-family” situation.
The parents and grandparents of the children appeared in court on Wednesday after being charged with more than a dozen felony counts of child endangerment.
Officials identified the defendants as Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. It is not yet known whether any of them have legal representation.
Following their arraignment, each was ordered to remain in custody on a $300,000 cash bond. They were also prohibited from contacting one another or any of the children.
Investigators say the children were discovered while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office were carrying out an unrelated investigation at the property in Hamden, a village of fewer than 1,000 residents around 60 miles southeast of Columbus.
The children, whose ages range from 18 months to 18 years old, included both boys and girls. Authorities transported them to hospital, where several have since been examined and released.
One child was placed in intensive care at one stage, while two others were airlifted to Level One trauma centres because of the severity of their injuries.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the home as “disgusting”, saying it was covered in human faeces and alleging the children had been confined to a single 12-by-12-foot room for nearly four years.
“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” Cain said during a Wednesday news conference.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the conditions inside the property left a lasting impression. He told reporters he could not get the smell of the home “away from me”.
Officials also revealed the severe developmental impact the children’s isolation appeared to have had. Some were unable to communicate at all, while others had only “limited” speech.
None had been enrolled in school, and the oldest child, an 18-year-old described as developmentally disabled, was reportedly unable to spell her own name.
“Some of these children couldn’t even speak,” Wilson told reporters. “It was terrible. They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible.”
Tessi Siders said she had not seen members of the family for at least eight years and had only met the children’s mother once.
According to Wilson, the family had been “pretty good at hiding these kids” and appeared to have moved around different parts of Ohio before settling in Vinton County about four years ago. The property where the children were found was owned by a trust.
Describing the scene as unlike anything he had witnessed in his career, Wilson called what investigators found “pure evil”. He said: “Justice will be served for these children.”
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