Ohio 'house of horrors' family was on child services' radar before 16 kids were rescued
A family who have been charged after 16 children were found living in appalling conditions at their home had previously been flagged to child protective services.
Gary Siders Jr, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 34, have been arrested and are facing charges of child endangerment following the horrifying discovery. Gary Jr's parents Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 68, have also been arrested and charged with child endangerment.
Authorities discovered 16 children at the family home in Vinton County, Ohio, with neighbors telling police that there had been no indication that the children had been living at the address.
The children were allegedly kept in a room measuring just 12ft by 12ft, with investigators saying that it had lacked proper sanitation and had contained human waste.
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All four adults have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last week, Gary Jr and Elizabeth were also charged with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in regard to a separate investigation. The minor is not one of their children.
Now 10TV has reported on the family's involvement with Gallia County Children's Services with two court filings.
According to one of the filings, January 2021 saw Gallia County Children's Services ordering protective supervision of the children, though they remained in their parents' custody.
Two months later in March 2021 the children's parents had agreed to a case plan approved by a court, with the court saying that the parents had made progress by May that year, and the case was closed on June 15 2021.
A different court filing dating back to March 2020 includes information about an investigation which was opened into the family following reports of concerns from a school about the education level of some of the children.
Five children had been enrolled in the school at the time, with records indicating that one of them only knew half of the alphabet in lower case letters.
Meanwhile, the report said that another child, aged seven at the time of the report, had allegedly not been able to speak in full sentences, and could not initiate a conversation.
Another child, aged nine at the time of the report, had not made any progress in 10 weeks according to the report.
An 11-year-old mentioned in the report was described as not being able to write the entire alphabet or speak out any of the sounds of the letters, and could only count to 12.
There were also concerns in the report about a 12-year-old who had an attendance rate of just 40 percent, while a 13-year-old had dropped out after not completing any schoolwork for a month.
In an evaluation from the school, the report said: "The Siders family is not an appropriate fit for their program."
It added that it 'believes that a traditional brick-and-mortar school would be in the best interest of the children', and that children's parents had not interacted with the school, with Christina Siders being the family member who had been communicating with them.
In addition to the concerns raised about the children's education levels, the report also detailed that Gary Jr and Elizabeth Siders were not complying with requests made by the school for things including speech therapy, as well as physical and medical examinations.
The channel reported that the first court filing had also included information about the family being reported to the county services in December 2020.
In this report, Gallia County Children's Services had concerns from a doctor, who had shared worry that the children had been not taken to follow-up medical appointments.
The doctor also shared worry that the children had developmental delays as a result of lead poisoning.
Further checks were made on the family, with a caseworker reporting the presence of flies, gnats, and cockroaches in the family home when she visited. The caseworker had also reported that they saw that two of the children had insect bites and bruises.
Following the doctor's concerns that the children's parents were not taking their children to medical follow ups, caseworkers also made reports about the possibility of neglect and abuse.
A timeline of the allegations against the Siders family
March 31 2008
Gary Siders Jr, 18, and Elizabeth Siders, 15, are married in Mason County, West Virginia with the consent of Elizabeth’s parents
May 30 2008
The couple’s eldest child is born. More children are born in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 (twins), 2024 (twins), and 2025.
October 19 2021
The superintendent of the Gallia County Local Schools in southeast Ohio told WSAZ3 there are records from this year showing Gary Jr. and Elizabeth were parents with a local school at the time.
Court records obtained by the Columbus Dispatch reveal that Gallia County Juvenile Court filed six truancy complaints against Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders for failing to send their children to school.
The kids were allegedly absent for the entirety of the 2021-2022 academic year.
January 2022
The truancy cases against the Siders family are closed because they could not be located or served, according to court records reviewed by WCHS.
November 10 2022
Elizabeth Siders prematurely delivers conjoined twins, who die an hour after they are born. Named Faith Lee and Bailey Lee Siders, they were joined at the chest, face-to-face, according to birth certificates obtained by WCMH.
May 23, 27, 29 and 31 2026
Court records show Gary Siders Jr. is accused of exposing himself on four separate occasions on these dates, WOWK reports.
June 30 2026
An arrest warrant is issued for Gary Siders Jr related to four alleged counts of public indecency.
Police attend the Siders’ home and find 16 children living in what police describe as deplorable conditions.
Authorities claim the children were confined to a 12-foot by 12-foot space for four years.
Gary Siders Sr, 73, Christina Siders, 67, Gary Siders Jr, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, are arrested and charged with 16 counts of endangering children, second degree felonies. All have since entered not guilty pleas.
July 3 2026
In an interview with WSYX ABC 6, Elizabeth Siders’ lawyer Thomas Stolly said on meeting his client for the first time: “I met a woman who was timid and who was exhausted. It looked like she had been crying quite a bit. She looked distraught.”
When asked if Elizabeth is also a victim in the case, he says: “I don’t think she would classify herself as a victim.”
He says the initial coverage of conditions at the Siders’ home is ‘not the whole story’.
July 7 2026
All four of the defendants waive their right to a preliminary hearing, meaning the case will now go before a grand jury.
They will decide whether to indict the four accused family members.
On the same day, Gary Sr.’s legal team ask for his $300,000 bail to be waived. They argue it is excessive, saying the 73-year-old has ‘significant health issues’ and ‘very limited mobility’, and doesn’t have the capacity to post any bail money.
His lawyer, Dorian Keith Baum, says Gary Sr. ‘has denied any and all allegations against him’ and has ‘a vested interest… to clear his name’.
Baum also says he has concerns about Gary Sr’s competency to stand trial.
That day, Gary Sr. is transported to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens. If released from hospital, he will be required to wear a GPS monitor. His bond is changed to a recognizance bond, which means he doesn’t have to pay the money upfront.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth also asks to be released from prison and her bond changed to a recognizance bond. Stolly says: "The Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children; she understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court."
July 8 2026
Vinton County prosecutor William Archer Jr. tells press that Gary Sr. 'has a serious medical condition that requires specialized care' that would 'potentially bankrupt Vinton County' if he'd remained in jail and the county had to pay for his care. Removing the 16 children from the Siders' home more than doubled the number of children in temporary care in Vinton County, putting further financial strain on local authorities.
Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers approves a request for Gary Sr to have a competency evaluation.
July 14 2026
Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers signs a gag order on information relating to Gary Siders Jr. This means that attorneys and public officials are prohibited from talking about the case against him to the press. Gary Jr's lawyer Lee Roberts said it was necessary to ensure he had a fair trial.
July 16 2026
Christina Siders' attorney also applies for a gag order.
July 28 2026
Roberts asks for Christina to be released on a recognizance bond, making new claims about the Siders' household.
Roberts writes in court documents that Christina 'was the only adult in the home who had long been providing for all the other adults and all the children residing in her home'.
She continues: "Despite her own medical conditions, Defendant was also tasked with caring for her husband and his significant medical needs and physical limitations."
It's unclear how Christina earned money to provide for the family.
July 29 2026
Judge Rogers approves requests for Gary Jr and Christina to undergo competency evaluations. These will determine if they understand the charges brought against them and are fit to stand trial.
August 3 2026
Gary Sr's bond is modified again and records indicate he has been released from hospital. He is required to wear a GPS monitoring device and submit to drug and alcohol screenings.
He'll owe the state $300,000 if he breaks these strict rules.
August 4 2026
Stolly files a request for Elizabeth to undergo a competency hearing.
August 21 2026
Gary Jr and Elizabeth are indicted by a grand jury on four new charges, including two third-degree felony counts of sexual battery and two third-degree felony counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
They are accused of having sexual contact with a minor at least 10 years younger than them, who was not one of their biological children, according to Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson. The alleged incident took place between January and September 2022.
Two additional men - Joshua Saunders, 23, and Brandon Henderson Sr., 40, - are charged as part of the same investigation.
Saunders faces three counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition. Henderson faces 21 charges, including multiple counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of sexual battery.
All four of the accused Siders family members are indicted on revised charges relating to the child endangerment investigation.
Gary Jr, Elizabeth and Christina are charged with two second-degree felony counts of endangering children, ten third-degree felony counts of endangering children and seven misdemeanour counts of endangering children
Gary Sr faces ten third-degree felony counts of child endangering and six misdemeanour counts of child endangering
August 26 2026
Gary Jr pleads not guilty to all charges. His bond was increased to $550,000.
Kit Roberts