A distant relative of the 16 children who were rescued from an apparent house of horrors in Ohio last week has spoken out following the disturbing revelations surrounding the case.
On June 30, police entered a home in Vinton County, Ohio, and discovered 16 children between the ages of 18 months and 18 years living in conditions officials described as horrific.
The children were found while deputies were investigating an unrelated crime. Four family members have since been charged in connection with the case. Parents Elizabeth Siders, 33, and Gary Siders Jr., 36, along with grandparents Christina Siders, 67, and Gary Siders Sr., 73, each face multiple felony child endangerment charges.
16 children rescued in Ohio
According to the Associated Press, officials who entered the property described the conditions as “deplorable.”
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said it was “conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” describing what he saw as “pure evil.”
Officials also said the children had been kept largely out of public view. The family had moved around frequently, the children never attended school, and several of them had little or no ability to communicate.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and away from investigators’ eyes,” Wilson said.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” Wilson said, per CBS News, while the sheriff added that “most of their livestock was kept in better condition than their children.”
“The conditions these children lived in were horrific”
Investigators believe more than half of the children spent the past four years confined to a small 12-foot-by-12-foot room, though authorities believe the abuse and neglect likely began long before then.
“The conditions these children lived in were horrific, and we are sickened by it. Fortunately, this tragic chapter has closed, but their recovery will take time,” Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said in a statement shared on Facebook.
Several of the children had suffered injuries, investigators said. Seven were taken to the hospital, including two who were in critical condition. Child welfare officials currently have temporary custody of all 16 children.
All four defendants face 16 counts each of second-degree felony child endangerment. Each count carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of 12 years in prison. If convicted on all counts, they could face up to 192 years behind bars. All four have pleaded not guilty and are being held on $300,000 bond.
Their uncle was “horrified”
Now, a distant relative of the family says he is struggling to process the allegations.
The children’s uncle, Ronnie Fletcher, who is married to the daughter of Gary Siders Jr. and Christina Siders, said he cannot fathom how severe the alleged abuse appears to have been. Speaking to WOWKTV, he said his first response was being “horrified” and worried about the children.
“It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family,” he said. “‘What can I do to help?’ That was the original reaction to it,” he said, explaining they almost never saw each other.
“It’s been awful for the people that had no idea what was going on at the house that are related to this family.
“I mean, we’ve had death threats – we’ve been told that we need to be put in front of an execution line of guns and, you know, killed and burned. I mean, it’s been bad.”
Married when she was just 15
He also fears for his own family’s safety as the case continues.
“My children, my daughters, have been threatened,” Ronnie said, according to LADbible. “It’s to the point we’ve had our pictures taken off our accounts and we’ve had to delete all our social media.
“My wife’s not been able to go to work because she works within the public and she’s scared. So all this is taking money off our table because we can’t live our normal lives, because the way these people are trying to treat us [over] something we didn’t have nothing to do with.”
Meanwhile, LA Magazine’s Lauren Conlin uncovered a series of Facebook posts allegedly written by Elizabeth’s brother, Jeremy Russell. In the posts, he claimed his sister had been “indoctrinated” and alleged that the state “knows something” after he repeatedly “harassed” authorities to investigate the family home.
According to Mason County public records, Elizabeth married Gary Siders Jr., the father of the children, on March 31, 2008, when she was just 15 years old. He was 19 at the time.
The revelation adds another layer to a case that continues to unfold, as investigators work to piece together what happened inside the home and the children begin what officials say will be a long road to recovery.
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