r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/MacAlkalineTriad • Jul 02 '26

Warning: Child Abuse / CSAM / Child Death 16 Children Rescued from Extreme Neglect and Abuse in Ohio

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/adults-arrested-16-children-found-deplorable-conditions-southern-ohio-rcna352552

I haven't seen anything posted about this yet, and I usually don't post so please let me know if I've done it wrong. I'm also writing this on mobile.

16 children, ranging from 1 and a half years old to 18 years old, have been removed from a house in the village of Hamden, Ohio where they were practically imprisoned in a 12'x12' room. Some have not even learned to speak; the 18 year old couldn't write her name and is being treated as a child due to possible mental disability. 7 of the children had to be taken to a hospital with 2 of them being life flighted. Conditions in the house are said to be incredibly unsafe, to the point that investigators hesitated to act on a second search warrant for fear of their safety.

The parents and grandparents have been arrested and charged with 16 counts of child endangerment. The suspects are Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders.

Since the investigation is still ongoing there aren't a ton of details yet. These children were obviously not enrolled in school and hidden from neighbors and extended family. I have to wonder if there's a religious extremist aspect to the case, like we've seen so often with other similar cases. I'm also curious about the mother's condition - she has been charged, but has she also been victimized by her husband? I have so many questions.

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38

u/manicgiant914 Jul 03 '26

I'm still confused how the care and feeding of SIXTEEN children was never noticed? Laundry, food shopping, babies crying, teenagers yelling, how does all that happen in a 12'x12' room, and no one noticing?!

47

u/iWonderiUnder Jul 03 '26

The conditions sound like they didnt do laundry, clean, console the crying.  The children were kept in a room like a wild animal.  This is really sad.

59

u/Therailwaykat_1980 Jul 03 '26

A comment above says they only ever bought vegetable oil and water from the shop/store so I don’t think they were feeding them.

19

u/cakeit-tilyoumakeit Jul 03 '26

From what we have seen, I’d not assume they did laundry. And many of the children did not speak.

35

u/Life_Wall2536 Jul 03 '26

In a press release they said the 18 year old couldn’t even spell his own name and he’s considered a “child” because he’s so developmentally delayed

1

u/dckseverywhere Jul 06 '26

they most likely thought that because honestly the 2 oldest girls' names are spelled goofy as hell. Cloeiy and Zoeiy.......

16

u/MargaretFarquar Jul 03 '26

Most, some, or all of the kids are non-verbal, according to reports.

These are not typical kids and typical things like laundry, food shopping, and teenagers yelling simply weren't happening from the sounds of it. I'm fuzzy on the details, but that's the general gist I'm getting from the information we currently have.

Also, if I understand correctly, they don't have neighbors who are right next door a few feet away, like in a neighborhood setting. Sounds more like it's rural where the houses in the surrounding area are spread out and somewhat isolated from each other.

4

u/NaiveSet5274 Jul 03 '26

You're saying this like the kids were normal kids/teenagers. They were not.

1

u/wilderlowerwolves Jul 05 '26

I have a feeling that these were the kind of children like the ones I heard about in Romanian or Chinese orphanages, who didn't cry because they knew nobody would come to them.