Authorities on Wednesday said 16 children from the same family were rescued from a dilapidated home in Hamden, Ohio, after being confined to a single room in “deplorable conditions” for much of the past four years.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the scene at a news conference, saying human waste was present throughout the home. “Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” Cain said. “Just a disgusting scene.”
The children ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years and included boys and girls, according to officials. Some of the children were unable to speak, and officials said an 18-year-old with developmental disabilities could not even spell her name.
Seven of the children were transported to hospitals in Columbus, and two were flown by helicopter to Level 1 trauma centers. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said one child was in critical condition on Tuesday and had to be intubated.
Sheriff Cain said the children appeared to have spent most of their time in a room roughly 12 feet by 12 feet. He said authorities did not find any cages inside the home.
“They looked like almost feral animals,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”
Authorities discovered the children while carrying out a search warrant in an unrelated investigation, Wilson said.
“We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there,” Wilson said.
Wilson described the scene as “pure evil” and said it was the worst he had encountered in his career. “It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America,” Wilson said, adding that nearly 24 hours later he still “can’t get the smell off of me.”
The children’s parents and two grandparents were each charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment, which involves “serious physical harm,” Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer said. Archer stressed that the case was not a human trafficking situation but an “intra-family situation.”
Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at $300,000 each.
Investigators said the family had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and appeared to have avoided creating medical and government records. The children were not enrolled in school.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and away from investigators’ eyes,” Wilson said, adding that it seemed no one outside the family knew about the children.
Neighbors in Hamden, a village of fewer than 1,000 people about 80 miles southeast of Columbus, said they had not seen children at the home. Joseph Stewart, 60, told the Associated Press that he saw “no kids at all” since the family moved in. Petey Angels, 64, told the Columbus Dispatch he was shocked by the allegations and had also never seen children near the home. “Nothing happens here. It’s something you wouldn’t expect in this village,” Angels said.
Archer said the state was seeking temporary custody of all the children. “Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson said.