Four members of an Ohio family have been arrested after investigators say they found 16 children living in severely unsafe and unsanitary conditions in Vinton County.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the conditions in stark terms during a July 1 press conference streamed by WBNS. “Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” he said, adding that authorities encountered what he believed was a heavy presence of bacteria and human feces. “It was just a disgusting scene.”
According to a statement from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders were taken into custody on June 30. Each is facing 17 counts of endangering children.
Authorities said the children were found inside the Hamden-area home while investigators were carrying out a search warrant tied to an unrelated case.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at the press conference that investigators believe the children had been deliberately kept out of sight. “The evidence shows that these folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Wilson said. “And I think you’re going to see that part of the reason they were hiding these kids is they knew that these kids were neglected.” He added that the adults appeared to understand the children would likely have been removed if others knew what was happening.
Wilson said he has visited impoverished communities before, but the scene at the property stood apart from anything he had previously encountered. “It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing,” he said.
The 16 children, whose ages ranged from 18 months to 18 years old, were removed from the home and taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. Wilson said one child was in critical condition in an intensive care unit, two others had been flown to trauma centers, and several were treated and released.
Wilson suggested the intervention may have come just in time. “I think if they would have waited another 24 hours,” he said, “there was a very high probability that we’d be dealing with…a death or multiple deaths of these children.”
Officials noted that one of the biggest challenges in the investigation has been that some of the children are unable to communicate and have limited speech abilities. Wilson described the children—who were not enrolled in school—as looking “almost feral,” adding, “It was terrible.”
The family has lived in multiple Ohio counties since 2008, but had been in Vinton County for approximately four years, authorities said.
“The children were kept in a roughly 12 by 12 area,” Cain added. “It seems like is where they’ve spent the most of the last four years.”
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer described the oldest child as being “developmentally disabled” and said she couldn’t spell her own name.
Wilson said additional charges could be possible as the ongoing investigation continues.
All four adults—who were described as being the grandma, grandpa, mother and father of the children—are currently being held on $300,000 bond, prosecutors said in the statement.
It’s unclear whether they have retained attorneys.
The children have been placed in the temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
“This case continues to reveal the unimaginable conditions these children were forced to endure. I said yesterday that what investigators encountered was pure evil, and the evidence we’ve uncovered since only reinforces that assessment,” Wilson noted, per the statement. “Our focus remains on protecting these children, supporting their recovery and ensuring everyone responsible is held fully accountable under Ohio law.”
