An Ohio father accused of keeping 16 children in a home contaminated with feces was also wanted for allegedly exposing himself to neighbors during a series of incidents this spring, according to court records.
Gary Siders Jr., 36, is accused of exposing himself to people outside the Vinton County residence at least four times in May, court documents show.
The filings allege Siders displayed his “private parts” on May 23, May 27, May 29 and May 31.
A criminal complaint was filed June 30, the same day authorities carried out a search warrant that allegedly revealed the severe conditions in which Siders, his wife and his parents were keeping the children.
Officials said they did not know the 16 children, described by authorities as “almost feral,” were inside the home when they arrived to serve Siders with an arrest warrant.
The children, who ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years, were allegedly confined in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room strewn with human waste.
“Some of these children couldn’t even speak,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said earlier this week.
“This is terrible. They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible. So when we’re talking reading, writing and education, we’re talking a whole other level of expectations here. It’s hard enough just to get these kids to be able to – the 18-year-old can’t spell her name,” Wilson said.
Siders, his wife, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and his parents, Gary Sr., 73, and Christina, 66, were arrested and face multiple charges of endangering children.
Siders was 18 years old and had only finished ninth grade when he married Elizabeth in 2008, who was 15 at the time, according to records in Mason County, West Virginia.
Their now-18-year-old was born two months after the marriage, NBC4 reported.
Children aged 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 10, 8, 6, and 5, along with 4-year-old twins, 2-year-old twins and 1-year-old twins, were also found in the squalid home.
Seven of the children were hospitalized in the Columbus area, including two who were taken to trauma centers.
One was in critical condition on Tuesday, Wilson said.
All four suspects face up to 16 counts of child endangerment and $300,000 bonds each — and could spend a maximum sentence of up to 192 years in prison if found guilty.
It’s unclear whether Siders and his wife are the parents of all 16 children. But her lawyer believes she is the biological mother of all of them.
Siders is due in court July 23 for his public indecency charges.
