Horrifying images show squalor inside house of horrors where sixteen children were found living as parents and grandparents are arrested
A terrifying portrait emerged Wednesday of 16 children being held in a small room at the House of Horrors in Ohio.
The children, who authorities said “looked like wild animals,” were rescued Tuesday morning when the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for an unrelated investigation.
Police encountered a horrific scene at Hamden’s house. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called it ‘pure evil.’
Harrowing new photographs reveal the deplorable conditions in which children aged between 18 months and 18 years are forced to live.
The small-town house was cordoned off with yellow police tape, while trash was strewn across the front yard.
Boxes, trash and miscellaneous items, including bicycles, were piled around the front porch.
Some photos offered a look inside the home, where authorities said the squalid conditions included human waste strewn throughout.
One sickening photo showed a window without glass; The opening was blocked by piles of rubble and garbage.
Disgusting photos emerge from dilapidated Ohio home where 16 children were rescued
Small-town house cordoned off with yellow police tape, trash strewn across front lawn
A sickening photo showed a glassless window, its opening blocked by piles of rubble and rubbish
More photos showed another section of the home’s interior covered in stained walls, where garbage bags and cardboard boxes blocked the entrance.
Cat and dog food bowls were also seen sitting outside the front porch of the house.
Food containers, garbage, and even high chairs were scattered throughout the house through broken windows.
The back of the house was also blocked off with police tape; car tires were in overgrown bushes, and the back porch was littered with junk, including a wagon.
Some of the children discovered Tuesday couldn’t speak, and one developmentally disabled 18-year-old couldn’t even write his name, researchers said.
‘Many of our animals were kept in better conditions than children were,’ Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said. ‘Just a disgusting scene.’
The two parents and grandparents were each charged with 17 counts of child endangerment, a second-degree felony.
The suspects were identified as Gary Siders Jr, Gary Siders Sr, Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders.
Felony charges were filed by the prosecutor’s office because the parents and grandparents were responsible for causing “serious physical harm,” according to prosecutor William Archer.
A cat looks out from the side door of a house where garbage is piled up
Garbage bags, cardboard boxes and garbage are seen blocking the entrance to the house
Food containers, garbage and even high chairs are scattered around
Cat and dog food bowls were also seen sitting outside the front porch of the house.
More junk seen from a door opening in the house of horrors
Police tape surrounds the back of the house, where various objects, including car tires, are scattered on the lawn
Mugshot of Elizabeth Siders, authorities add The four people arrested were not locals and appeared to be traveling
Mugshot of Gary Siders Jr., authorities have not confirmed that all the children are related but have said this is not a human trafficking case
Gary Siders Sr. mugshot, four people in custody remain jailed on $300,000 bail
mugshot of christina siders, the four were arraigned in Vinton County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday.
Many of the children were in serious condition when they were found, and two had to be transported to level one trauma centers due to their injuries.
When asked about the emotional state of the children at a news conference, Wilson said investigators’ primary concern when they arrived at the scene was to get the children to the hospital due to the extent of their medical condition.
Authorities did not confirm that all the children were related but said this was not a human trafficking case.
The four people arrested were not locals and appeared to be travelling, officials added.
‘Our children deserve better from their parents, guardians and guardians. “No child should have to endure such conditions,” said Prosecutor Archer.
‘My office will do everything we can to ensure these children receive the love and care they deserve. ‘My office will prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by law.’
The four suspects were arraigned Wednesday morning in Vinton County Common Pleas Court and remain jailed on $300,000 bail.
Investigators said in an update that they now believe Siders has lived in multiple Ohio counties since 2008 and has avoided producing medical or public records.
