Four charged after 16 children found in deplorable conditions at rural Ohio home

A relative of the 16 “almost feral” children rescued from a feces-filled Ohio house of horrors has revealed he’s been hit with death threats after his wife’s parents were arrested on child endangerment charges.

An in-law of the four adults charged only learned of all 16 kids' existence inside the house of horrors when news of their relatives’ arrests broke.

Authorities discovered the children in a small room surrounded by human waste

Four people who are the children’s parents and grandparents were arrested on child endangerment charges

Police rescued 16 children from a property in Hamden, Ohio, during a search warrant operation (Picture: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Sixteen children have been rescued from a tiny Ohio home where police say some ‘looked like feral animals’ and others couldn’t even speak. Four adults have since been charged over what investigators described as conditions of ‘pure evil’. Deputies from the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office made the discovery on Tuesday morning after carrying out a search warrant at the property in Hamden. The village is home to fewer than 1,000 people and sits about 60 miles southeast of Columbus. The children ranged in age from just 18 months to 18 years old and included both boys and girls. Officials said several were in a serious condition when they were found, with two airlifted to Level I trauma centres because of the severity of their injuries. Wilson said some of the children ‘couldn’t even speak’ by the time they were found. He added: ‘They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible.’ The four defendants appeared in court and remain in custody on $300,000 bond each (Picture: Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail) Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said investigators were confronted by scenes that were difficult even for seasoned officers to process. He described ‘conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in’. The children’s medical condition meant getting them to hospital became the immediate priority, rather than beginning interviews at the scene. Wilson said investigators focused first on making sure they received urgent treatment. Sheriff Ryan Cain said the home was littered with human faeces and investigators believe the children had been kept in a small room for nearly four years. He said the conditions were so poor that ‘most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children’. Four members of the Siders family were arrested following the raid and have each been charged with 17 counts of child endangering, a second-degree felony. They have been identified as Gary Siders Jr, Gary Siders Sr, Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. Officials described the conditions inside the home as among the worst they had ever encountered (Picture: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) Prosecuting attorney William Archer said the charges were brought because prosecutors allege that the parents and grandparents were responsible for causing ‘serious physical harm’. He said that no child should ever have to endure those kinds of living conditions. Archer added: ‘Our children deserve better from their parents, guardians and custodians. My office will do everything in our power to make sure these children get the love and care they deserve.’ He also said prosecutors intend to pursue the case ‘to the fullest extent of the law’. The four defendants appeared before the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas on Wednesday and remain in custody on $300,000 bonds. Investigators haven’t confirmed exactly how all 16 children are related to the four adults. They have, however, stressed that the case is not being treated as one involving human trafficking. Investigators say the family had lived in several Ohio counties over the years while avoiding official records (Picture: Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images) The investigation is now stretching well beyond the property where the children were found. Detectives believe the Siders family lived in several Ohio counties after 2008 while avoiding the creation of medical or government records. Investigators are continuing to piece together the children’s backgrounds as they try to establish where the family had been living over the years. Officials haven’t released further details about the children’s relationships to one another. A relative, Terri Siders, told NBC News she hadn’t heard from the family in at least eight years. She said she knew Gary Siders Jr had children but never imagined there were so many. ‘I knew little Gary had kids, yeah. I don’t remember meeting any of the kids, though,’ she said. ‘I knew they had a lot of kids through family talking years ago, but there’s no way I thought they had that many kids.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

Authorities in Ohio rescued 16 children from a dilapidated home in the rural village of Hamden after discovering they had allegedly been confined to a single room in "deplorable conditions" for much of the past four years.The children, all from the same family, ranged in age from one-and-a-half to 18 years. Officials said they were living amid human waste and severe neglect. Some were unable to speak, while an 18-year-old with developmental disabilities could not spell her own name."Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children," Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said at a news conference, describing the home as having a high presence of bacteria and human faeces, The Guardian reports."Just a disgusting scene," he said.Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said authorities found the children while executing a search warrant in an unrelated investigation."We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there," Wilson said, describing what he witnessed as "pure evil".Wilson called it the worst case he had encountered in his career."It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America," Wilson said, adding that nearly 24 hours later he still "can’t get the smell off of me".Four family members chargedThe children's parents and two grandparents, identified as Gary Siders Jr, Gary Siders Sr, Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders, have each been charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment involving "serious physical harm", Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer said.Archer stressed that the investigation was not a human trafficking case but an "intra-family situation".Cain said investigators believe the children spent most of their time in a room measuring about 12 ft by 12 ft. Although no cages were found inside the house, he did not disclose how the children were confined.Seven children were taken to hospitals in Columbus, while two were airlifted by helicopter to level one trauma centres. Wilson said one child was in critical condition on Tuesday and had to be intubated."They looked like almost feral animals," he said. "It was terrible."The four adults appeared in court on Wednesday, where a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at $300,000 each.53 Toddlers Found Lying Motionless, Half-Naked & Tied Up At Daycare In Indonesia; Viral Abuse Video Shocks Internet - WATCH Neighbours unaware children lived at homeInvestigators said the family had moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and appeared to have avoided creating medical and government records. None of the children was enrolled in school."They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and away from investigators’ eyes," Wilson said, adding that it appeared no one outside the family knew the children existed.Residents of Hamden, a village of fewer than 1,000 people about 80 miles south-east of Columbus, said they had never seen the children.Joseph Stewart, 60, told the Associated Press he saw "no kids at all" after the family moved into the neighbourhood."It’s a sad situation," he said, describing the area as "a quiet neighbourhood".Another neighbour, Petey Angels, 64, told the Columbus Dispatch he was shocked by the allegations and had never seen children near the house."Nothing happens here," Angels said of Hamden. "It’s something you wouldn’t expect in this village."Also Watch:Archer said the state was seeking temporary custody of all 16 children."Justice will be served for these children," Wilson said.