Ohio authorities rescue 16 children found confined in one room

State and local officers found 16 children in a Hamden home on Tuesday, June 30, after serving a search warrant in an unrelated investigation. The children ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years and had spent most of their time in a room about 12 feet by 12 feet.

Seven children were taken to hospitals in Columbus, two were flown by helicopter to Level 1 trauma centers, and one child was in critical condition that day. By July 1, seven children remained hospitalized. Some of the children could not speak, and one 18-year-old with developmental disabilities could not write her name.

The adults arrested were Gary L. Siders Sr., Gary L. Siders Jr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. Prosecutors charged them with felony child endangerment, and all four pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, July 1. The case is being handled as a child endangerment case inside a single-family household, not as human trafficking.

The home is on the 100 block of Ohmer Street in Hamden, about 80 miles southeast of Columbus, in a county officials described as poor and rural. The family had lived in Vinton County for about four years and had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades without setting up medical and government records. Neighbors had no idea children were living there.

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called the conditions “pure evil” and said it was the worst scene of his career. He warned that if authorities had waited another 24 hours, there was a high probability of one or more deaths. Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said “most of our livestock” would be kept in better conditions than the children, and said investigators found high levels of bacteria and feces. The home had no cages inside, and the confinement took place in a room where the children spent much of their time in squalor.

Gov. Mike DeWine said in a written statement that he and his wife were praying for the victims and thanked child services workers, law enforcement and medical personnel.