THE grandmother of the 16 kids rescued from a home in Ohio has filed the same request as the one granted to her son while they sit in jail on child endangerment charges.
Christina Siders’ attorney filed a motion requesting a gag order after she was arrested alongside three members of her family when police rescued 16 kids from a home in deplorable conditions.
Christina Siders, 67, was arrested and charged with 16 counts of child endangerment after her 16 grandchildren were rescued from their home in OhioCredit: Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail
Several cardboard boxes and a bicycle were seen in the yard of their Hamden, Ohio homeCredit: AP
Authorities in Hamden, Ohio, rescued 16 kids ranging in age from one to 18 from a home after they allegedly found them living in unsanitary conditions on June 30 while executing a search warrant on unrelated charges.
Investigators said some of the children were unable to speak and that the oldest could not write her own name.
“This is very, it was terrible. I mean, it looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” Attorney General Andy Wilson said.
Christina, 67, was arrested and charged with 16 counts of child endangerment alongside her husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, her son, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and her daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Siders, 33.
Christina’s attorney has since filed a motion requesting a gag order, and if it is granted, it would prevent further information regarding her connection to the case from being released, WOWK reported.
A gag order prohibits the attorneys, parties or witnesses in a pending criminal lawsuit from talking about the case with the public, according to Cornell Law School.
The filing comes after Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers granted a gag order on behalf of Gary Siders Jr., per another WOWK report.
It is not yet clear if the judge will grant a gag order in Christina’s case.
Fetherolf Rogers approved the gag order for Gary Siders Jr., saying that any statement that has been made by the Vinton County Prosecutor’s Office, the Ohio Attorney General’s office, the clerk of courts or sheriff’s office could “create a reasonable likelihood of prejudicial pretrial publicity which may impact the ability to impanel an impartial jury.”
Elizabeth’s attorney, Thomas Stolly, has pushed back on officials in the case who have spoken out.
“We’re still at the early stages of this criminal case. And so that’s one of the reasons that it’s important to push back against language like that,” he told WBNS.
“And it’s important to remember that Elizabeth and the rest of the Siders family are innocent until proven guilty.”
Four members of the Siders family were arrested after the children were rescued: clockwise starting at top left, Gary Siders Sr., Christine Siders, Elizabeth Siders and Gary Siders Jr.Credit: AP
Debris and trash were seen on the front lawn of the house where the children were rescuedCredit: AP
Wilson alleged the children were kept in an area no bigger than 12 feet by 12 feet for the majority of the last four years.
“What we saw down here today is pure evil,” the attorney general said.
“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children. It was just a disgusting scene.”
All four of the adults charged have pled not guilty and waived their preliminary hearings.
Gary Siders Sr. was granted a recognizance bond and released from jail after he suffered a fall and medical emergency on the way to court on July 7.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said caring for the 73-year-old’s health issues would be costly, and it would be up to the county to foot the bill since he is in custody.
“Based the information that we were provided, his medical care could potentially bankrupt Vinton County,” Archer said. “We were not going to put that burden also on our local taxpayers.”
“It was agreed that we would do a recognizance bond, so he could get the medical treatment that the doctors say he needs and won’t cost the county that money.”
A Photo from inside of their home show trash and plastic bottles scattered aroundCredit: BackGrid
Elizabeth Siders’s attorney Thomas Stolly has pushed back on statements made by local officials in relation to the caseCredit: WBNS 10TV
A high chair and cardboard boxes were found at the entrance of the homeCredit: AP
A cat was seen looking out from the door of the houseCredit: AP
Elizabeth requested to be released from jail, revealing through her attorney her “principal desire” is to reunite with her children.
“She did not ask when she was getting out of jail. She did not ask what a timeline was for her to get out of jail. She started asking about the kids,” Stolly told WBNS.
Elizabeth appears to have married her husband when she was 15 and he was 18 and gave birth almost every year, including in 2022 when she had conjoined twins, who then died shortly after birth.
Several of the children were hospitalized with injuries after they were rescued by authorities.
The Siders have been held on $300,000 bonds, which Elizabeth’s attorney has argued is “excessive.”
Stolly has also pushed back on local authorities’ claims that the 16 children were forced to stay inside a 12-by-12 room.
“There’s no indication that the kids were not free to move about the home. There’s no indication from my conversations with my client that the kids were not allowed to go outside,” he said.
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