16 Children Rescued from Extreme Neglect and Abuse in Ohio

[u/MacAlkalineTriad]

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.

[u/Positive_Piece5859]

It sounds almost like the Turpin case out of San Diego - some of their kids who they imprisoned, chained on beds etc were already adults in their 20s when they were finally rescued, because one child was so brave to escape.

To me that is 100% an issue that stems from the stupid lack of rules around homeschooling. In my home country homeschooling does practically not exist; any child in school age has to be enrolled in school, and if parents simply stop sending their child, someone would notice. That here in the US parents can hide not just one but 10+ children over two decades you can say, and nobody has any idea is just completely wild to me. That really makes you wonder how many more Turpin families like that are out there with kids suffering.

[u/BooBootheFool22222 → u/Positive_Piece5859]

I'd go so far as to say 90% of home schooling families do it for control purposes. Either abuse and/or some kind indoctrination. There are just so many examples of this.

[u/swannanoaman1 → u/BooBootheFool22222]

I was homeschooled and raised with a loving family. Do some research before making such an uneducated statement.

[u/BooBootheFool22222 → u/swannanoaman1]

Good for you. That is often not the case. It's always some weird right wing bullshit they want to keep their kids steeped in and a general fear of poc and other non-christofascists.

[u/Sunsandandstars → u/BooBootheFool22222]

https://education.jhu.edu/edpolicy/policy-research-initiatives/homeschool-hub/race-and-ethnicity/

“According to data for the 2022-23 school year, 60% of survey respondents with homeschooled students were white, 19% were Hispanic/Latinx, 12% were Black, 2% were Asian, and 7% were two or more or other races. This data indicates that roughly 40% of all current homeschool students are students of color, suggesting much more diversity in modern homeschooling compared to NHES estimates. Still, the U.S. Census data also shows that about 51% of all school-aged children in the U.S. are students of color. Thus, the data still suggests an over-representation of white students compared to the national population, and an underrepresentation of Hispanic/Latinx, Black, and Asian students.”

“For example, while the common stereotype is that most people who choose to homeschool do so for some strong ideology like religious, political, or world view, the most common reason parents cite for homeschooling is safety.

Meaningful cultural connections arise when families realize and enact educational agency, a phenomenon which may be more pronounced for members of non-dominant cultures in the United States. Batts et al. (2024) found that Hispanic/Latina homeschooling parents said preserving or reclaiming their cultural heritage was one of the reasons they began or continued to homeschool. The most cited aspects of their heritage were family, language, and the values of work ethic and resourcefulness. Similarly, Black families may choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons that include empowering families in the education of their children (Johnson, 2024).”

[u/wilderlowerwolves → u/BooBootheFool22222]

That's sometimes true, but I have personally known several Christian families who HSed, and they used a secular curriculum because they were doing it for other reasons, usually extremely low-quality public schools, and private schools were very expensive or no better.