In June, 16 children were rescued from a home in Vinton County where they had allegedly been isolated in a 12x12 foot room for years. Law enforcement have stated the home contained human feces and other waste. Seven of the children were hospitalized after rescue.
Law enforcement arrested and charged four members of the Siders family with multiple counts of felony child endangerment. Now a month after the arrest, it’s unclear if all of them will stand trial. Gary Siders Jr., father to the 16 children, and his parents Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders, have all requested competency hearings. The children’s mother, Elizabeth Siders, remains the only defendant without a request.
Thomas Billington, a reporter with member station WOUB, has been covering the case since the beginning. He said that as the case continues its way through the justice system, the community has more questions.
“These children were known to the state or they were known to the county,” Billington said. “But according to the Attorney General and according to other officials, the 18-year-old child could not read, could not spell her name. So it’s definitely brought scrutiny on the homeschooling system.”
It’s also made the community reflect on how they could have missed what was happening.
“I talked with neighbors at the scene and they just had no idea what was going on. They hadn’t seen these children,” Billington said. “There’s this almost sense of shame that they weren’t able to help these kids, but they’re now coming together as a community and trying to help these kids.”
Details of the case have been thin, as multiple gag orders have been issued by Vinton County Judge Laina Rogers. The attorney representing Siders Jr., Richard Lee Roberts Jr., asked for the gag order citing that comments made by authorities shortly after the initial arrests could influence potential jury members.
Comments of concern included a statement by Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson who referred to the situation as “pure evil” and a description of the children’s living conditions, of which Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said “our livestock are kept in better conditions.”
But some are concerned that the gag orders violate a First Amendment right. The Columbus Dispatch filed a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court challenging the gag order. Jack Greiner, attorney for The Columbus Dispatch said that the newspaper is “protecting the public’s right to know what is happening in this horrific situation.” The lawsuit is ongoing.
The competency evaluation requests are now with a medical examiner, who will look through the details and determine whether or not the individuals are competent to stand trial. The medical examiner must make the reports within 30 days of the original request. All three competency requests should be determined by the end of August.
The case remains under investigation.
