16 Children Rescued from Ohio Home; Parents Face Charges

Ohio authorities rescued 16 children from a single family living in what one sheriff described as conditions worse than "most of our livestock." The children, ranging in age from 1 to 18, were confined to a single room in a dilapidated house in Hamden, southeast of Columbus.

Police discovered the children Wednesday while executing a search warrant in an unrelated investigation, according to WLWT-TV. Sheriff Ryan Cain of Vinton County said the house was filled with human waste and some of the children could not speak. He described the scene at a press conference as "just a disgusting scene."

"If they had waited 24 hours, there is a very high probability that we'd be dealing with a death, or multiple deaths, of these children," Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said, calling the situation "pure evil."

The children were kept in a room roughly 12 feet square, Cain said. Seven were transported to Columbus hospitals. Two were flown by helicopter to level one trauma centers. One child was in critical condition, Wilson said.

Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court via Zoom Wednesday and entered not guilty pleas. Each faces 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment, according to William Archer, the county's prosecuting attorney. He said the case is an "intra-family situation," not a human trafficking case. Additional charges are expected.

Authorities said the family moved frequently in the area, and the children were not enrolled in school. The children had been confined to the room for most of the past four years, The Guardian reported.