Four adults are facing felony charges after law enforcement uncovered 16 children living in shocking and dangerous conditions inside a home in a small southern Ohio village on Tuesday.
Investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Investigation, working alongside the local sheriff’s department, conducted a search of a residence in Hamden — a community of fewer than 1,000 residents located roughly 60 miles southeast of Columbus. What they found inside left officials stunned.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the scene at a news conference, saying it involved “conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in.”
The four individuals taken into custody were identified as Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders. None of the four had yet been arraigned or assigned public defenders at the time of the report.
Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer stated the group is being charged with second-degree felony child endangering, citing what he described as “serious physical harm” to the children involved.
The children found at the home ranged in age from approximately one and a half years old to 18, and included both boys and girls. Several were in serious medical condition when discovered, and two required emergency air transport to level one trauma centers due to the severity of their injuries.
Officials did not confirm whether the children were related to one another or to the adults. Authorities were clear, however, that this was not a human trafficking case. They also noted that the four adults did not appear to be from the local area and seemed to have been traveling.
Attorney General Wilson said the scene was unlike anything he had seen throughout his entire career, calling what he witnessed “pure evil.”
Law enforcement was also carrying out a secondary search warrant at the property on Tuesday as the investigation continued. The four arrested adults were scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.
“Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson stated.
