VINTON COUNTY, Ohio (TCN) — Authorities who found and rescued 16 children from a squalid home in June had reportedly gone there to serve one of the adult residents an unrelated warrant.
On June 30, officers responding to the home encountered 16 children, ages 1 through 18, some of whom were in serious condition and needed hospitalization. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called the situation “pure evil” and “beyond comprehension” and said the children lived like “feral animals.”
The four adult family members, 73-year-old Gary Siders Sr., 36-year-old Gary Siders Jr., 67-year-old Christina Siders, and 33-year-old Elizabeth Siders, were taken into custody and each charged with 17 counts of child endangerment.
WCMH reports that on the day the children were discovered, police had gone to the Siders’ residence to serve a warrant to Gary Sider Jr. for four counts of indecent exposure.
Officers responding to the home on June 30 reportedly did not know the children existed, according to KTSA.
According to court documents obtained by WCMH, Gary Sider Jr. allegedly exposed himself outside the home on four separate dates in May and June. He is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial hearing in connection with those charges on July 9.
According to WCMH, if the adult suspects are convicted as charged in connection with the child endangerment case, they could face up to 192 years in prison each.
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