TROUBLING details have emerged in the case of 16 children who were found living in squalor conditions as authorities arrest four adults on đȘđ«đŸđŒđź charges.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson was aghast when explaining the conditions of the home, describing it as âone of the worst environments that Iâve seen in my career.â
Police tape surrounds a home where authorities say they recovered 16 children and arrested four adults in Hamden, Ohio, on WednesdayCredit: AP
Items are seen beyond police tape in the Hamden homeCredit: AP
Elizabeth Siders was one of four relatives arrestedCredit: Vinton County Sheriffâs Office
Items scattered on the floor, including a high chair, are seen in the disheveled homeCredit: AP
âWhat we saw down here today is pure evil,â Wilson said at a news conference on Wednesday.
âIt really looked third world. Itâs the type of thing that weâre not used to seeing here in America.
â[Itâs] almost indescribable.â
Vinton County Sheriffâs officials arrested four relatives identified as Gary Siders, 73, Christina Siders, 66, Gary Siders II, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33.
Authorities have not confirmed who the parents of the children are.
However, itâs believed Siders II and Elizabeth are parents to some, if not all of the 16 children, who range from ages one-and-a-half to 18.
The elder Siders and Christina are believed to be the childrenâs grandparents.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said authorities discovered the inhumane conditions while executing a search warrant at the property related to a separate, unrelated investigation.
Investigators said the Siders family âbounced aroundâ a lot and only recently moved to Hamden in Vinton County, roughly 80 miles southeast of Columbus.
âWe didnât know there were going to be 16 kids there,â Cain said at the presser.
âMost of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children. It was just a disgusting scene.â
Authorities said some of the children were unable to speak at all and the eldest, described as an 18-year-old, was described as developmentally disabled and could not write her name.
The conditions inside the home were something out of a horror film.
The children were found living in a room âno larger than 12 feet by 12 feet,â with a high presence of human waste and excrement.
Gary Siders II and his parents were arrested and charged with felony child endangermentCredit: Vinton County Sheriffâs Office
Gary Siders is believed to be the grandfather of the 16 childrenCredit: Vinton County Sheriffâs Office
Christina is believed to be the childrenâs grandmotherCredit: Vinton County Sheriffâs Office
An aerial view showed debris strewn on the front lawn of the Hamden homeCredit: AP
Investigators believe the children were kept in the cramped space for âmost of the last four years.â
The conditions in the house were so decrepit that the children were âliterally about to fall through the floor,â Wilson said.
Items including a high chair, tires, food, and insect killer were visible at the dilapidated property.
A pile in the yard was filled with a plastic play table, a beach pail, and two infant carriers.
The attorney general said no one outside of the four relatives knew about the children, who werenât enrolled in school.
âThey looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,â Wilson, the attorney general, added.
NBC affiliate WCMH-TV reported that there are three sets of twins among the 16 children.
Wilson said seven of the children were taken to Columbus Hospital, and at least two of them were life-flighted.
Siders, Christina, Siders II, and Elizabeth were each charged with 16 counts of felony second-degree child endangerment.











