Four adults were arrested Tuesday on felony child endangerment charges after authorities found 16 children in urgent need of medical care inside a rural home in southern Ohio.
Investigators with the Ohio Bureau of Investigation, working alongside the local sheriff’s department, searched a residence in the small village of Hamden and discovered the children living in what officials described as “deplorable” conditions.
“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said during a news conference.
Authorities identified the adults taken into custody as Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. They had not yet been arraigned or assigned public defenders.
Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer said the suspects are facing second-degree felony child endangering charges because the case involves allegations of “serious physical harm.”
Officials did not say whether the children were related to one another, but they emphasized that the case was not being investigated as a human trafficking matter.
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Investigators also said the adults did not appear to be from the area and seemed to have been traveling.
Hamden, a village of fewer than 1,000 residents, is located about 60 miles, or 97 kilometers, southeast of Columbus.
The children ranged from ages 1.5 to 18 and included both boys and girls, officials said.
Several were in serious conditions when found, and two had to be flown to level one trauma centers because of their injuries.
Wilson said it was the worst scene he had ever encountered in his entire career, describing what he saw as “pure evil.”
Law enforcement were also executing a secondary search warrant at the home Tuesday, and the investigation is ongoing. The four adults will appear in court Wednesday morning.
“Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson said.
