Court records recently obtained by The Columbus Dispatch show that authorities attempted to intervene years before 16 children were discovered living in what officials described as deplorable conditions inside a Vinton County home.
According to the records, Gallia County Juvenile Court filed six truancy complaints in October 2021 against Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders after six of their children, who ranged in age from 7 to 13 years old, failed to attend school. The children should have been enrolled at Addaville Elementary School.
The documents state the children had been absent without a legitimate excuse for the entire 2021-2022 school year and had accumulated enough unexcused absences to be classified as habitual truants under Ohio law.
However, the cases never moved forward because court officials were unable to locate the family. Court entries filed in January 2022 state that neither the parents nor the children could be served because their whereabouts were unknown.
The records come to light just weeks after authorities executed a search warrant at the family’s Hamden, Ohio, home on June 30 while investigating an unrelated case regarding Gary Jr allegedly urinating in public. Officials said they had no idea children were inside the residence until they entered.
Investigators found 16 children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years old, allegedly living inside a single 12-foot-by-12-foot room under what Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Attorney General Andy Wilson have described as horrific and neglectful conditions.
Wilson has alleged the children were intentionally kept out of school and hidden from authorities because the adults knew they would likely be removed from the home. He also claimed the family avoided creating medical and legal records that could have drawn attention to the children. This would explain why only Gary Sr and Christina collected government benefits.
Gary Siders Jr., 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, have each been charged with 16 felony counts of endangering children. Each count corresponds to one of the 16 children found inside the home.
The case remains under investigation, and prosecutors have not yet released additional details outlining the specific allegations tied to each individual child.
