In Ohio, mother of 16 pleads not guilty in neglect case — The Guardian
In Ohio, United States, 34-year-old Elizabeth Siders pleaded not guilty to all charges of child endangerment and neglect. The case was heard by the Vinton County Court. The judge deemed her a flight risk and increased bail from $250,000 to $550,000.
Case circumstances
Siders is one of four family members, including her husband Gary Siders Jr., who were charged with 16 counts of child endangerment and neglect. In July, investigators found 16 children aged from 17 months to 18 years in the family home in the village of Hamden.
As The Guardian reports, authorities described the conditions in the home as unacceptable. According to the outlet, for a significant portion of the previous four years, the children were kept in a single 12-by-12-foot room containing human waste. The children did not attend school, and some could not speak. The oldest child had developmental impairments and could not spell their own name.
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Other charges
Siders and her husband were also separately charged with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. According to a copy of the indictment obtained by People, the alleged victim was not the couple's child but another relative aged between 13 and 16 who was in their care in 2022.
Gary Siders Jr. also pleaded not guilty in August. His father, Gary Siders Sr., was found incompetent to stand trial last week. Elizabeth Siders, her husband, and his mother Christina Siders filed motions for evaluations of their competency to stand trial.
Elizabeth Siders' attorney, Tommy Stolly, said his client married at age 15, was pregnant for much of nearly two decades, and did not receive proper postpartum and routine medical care. According to him, this raises concerns about her mental state and ability to make informed decisions. The motion for an evaluation is still under consideration. The court also prohibited Siders from contacting her husband and children.
