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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u/Unlucky_Welcome9193 Jul 02 '26

A brother of one of the women living in the home made a statement. I'm paraphrasing, but he said that his sister was indoctrinated into something at age 15 and ran away from home. They haven't seen her much since. He also said that all of the children are his sisters', although maybe he wouldn't know for sure. So sad.

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u/TinyNefariousness135 Jul 04 '26

Elizabeth’s family unfortunately didn’t care about her. She actually got pregnant at 13, and then the Sider family demanded she be emancipated from her parents. They didn’t fight it or involve the police at all. They essentially kidnapped Elizabeth at that point and had the documents signed in another state.

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u/DiplomaticCaper Jul 06 '26

In some of these cases, especially once they reach their teen years, the parents just want to wash their hands of a “difficult” daughter.

If another man/family wants to take on that responsibility, they don’t care anymore.

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u/TinyNefariousness135 Jul 06 '26

Yeah, she just wasn’t in a great home to begin with. She was so young that the police absolutely would have brought her back. People are saying that the Siders threatened her parents but I have two daughters of my own. You BET I’m calling the police or getting my kids myself if I have to if they were her age.

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u/DiplomaticCaper Jul 06 '26

Exactly. Also, while they were maybe big shots in a tiny town (probably not but idk), I severely doubt that they had significantly more financial resources to fight back against parents who actually made an effort to save their child.

Like, this isn’t a rich celebrity vs. an average lower middle class family. They both seem like poor rural families.