The prosecutor in the case of 16 children rescued from a squalid Ohio home has warned the public that the investigation will be a lengthy one.
William Archer, Vinton County prosecutor, said the biggest challenge investigators face in the case that shocked the nation is that many of the children have severely limited communication skills. Some cannot communicate at all.
“One of the investigative challenges is that the children are limited. They can communicate but it’s extremely limited and some not at all,” Archer said at a press conference this week alongside Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson and Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain.
The children, aged between 18 months and 18 years, were discovered on June 30 by the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office.
They were found inside a crumbling home in Hamden, Ohio, where they had been locked in a 12-by-12-foot room for at least four years in conditions authorities described as worse than livestock.
Two were airlifted to specialist trauma centers. Seven more were taken to hospitals in Columbus, with one admitted to the ICU and placed on a ventilator.
Oldest child incapable of spelling her own name
Archer also noted that the eldest child, 18 years old, is developmentally still a minor and unable to spell her own name, despite being the age at which most teenagers graduate from high school. There is no evidence that any of the children were ever enrolled in school.
The children are currently being placed in protective custody with Ohio Jobs and Family Services.
Gary Siders Jr., 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 77 are believed to be the children’s parents and grandparents. They have all pleaded not guilty to 17 counts of child endangerment each.
Bond has been set at $300,000 for each. If convicted on all counts, each individual could face up to 192 years in prison.
READ MORE:
- Lawyer reveals ‘telling’ first thing mom of 16 “feral” children rescued from Ohio home said after arrest
- New details emerge about oldest child in Ohio home where 16 children were left to rot like ‘feral animals’
