Ohio Grandfather Found Mentally Incompetent to Stand Trial in Child Abuse Case

A 73-year-old Ohio man who was living in deplorable conditions with his 16 grandchildren has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. Vinton County Judge accepted evaluation findings Wednesday, and Prosecutor William Archer did not contest the results regarding Gary Siders Sr.

Siders appeared in court via wheelchair, his attorney Dorian Baum stating that his client’s mental health has deteriorated over several years and is unlikely to improve. “It’s not really a surprise to any of us that he’s not been found competent at this point,” Baum said. “He doesn’t fully understand or appreciate what’s going on.”

Siders faces 16 counts of child endangerment connected to the rescue of the children on June 30 from a home in Hamden, located approximately 80 miles south of Columbus. Law enforcement discovered the minors while executing a search warrant linked to an unrelated investigation.

Authorities reported that the children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, were largely confined to a single small room. Some were described as having regressed to a “feral” state and were unable to speak. The siblings were not enrolled in school, had lived a transient lifestyle for two decades, and remained unseen by neighbors.

Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the scene as containing high concentrations of bacterial and human fecal matter. “Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” Cain stated during a July 2 news conference. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson added that the eldest child, now 18, could not spell her own name, comparing the children’s condition to that of animals.

Wilson emphasized the difficulty of the case, noting that the suspects were skilled at keeping the children hidden from investigators. He vowed to ensure the children receive therapeutic placement and that those responsible are held accountable.

Other family members have entered not-guilty pleas. Siders’ wife, Christina Siders, his son Gary Siders Jr., and daughter-in-law Elizabeth Siders, the mother of the children, are all facing charges. Court records indicate that Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth married in West Virginia in May 2008 when he was 18 and she was 15. Elizabeth has reportedly been pregnant nearly every year since then.