Prosecutor says 16 children removed from Hamden home are safe
William Archer Jr. said the 16 Hamden children removed from Ohmer Street are safe and being cared for as special prosecutors take over the case.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer Jr. said the 16 children removed from a Hamden home are safe and being cared for, but he offered few details about where they are now or what medical treatment they still need.
The children were taken from 182 Ohmer St. during a June 30 search warrant tied to an unrelated investigation. Four adults in the home were arrested that day, and each was later arraigned on 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony. Bond for Gary Lee Siders Sr., Christina Lynn Siders, Gary Lee Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Ann Siders was set at $300,000 apiece on July 1.
The children ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years old, with birth dates spanning from May 30, 2008, to Jan. 21, 2025. At the July 1 press conference at the University of Rio Grande’s McArthur Center, some of the children had been treated and released while others remained hospitalized in serious condition. Seven children were sent to hospitals in Columbus, and one child was placed in intensive care.
Sheriff’s officials said the children were very limited in how much they could communicate, and Archer said authorities believe the oldest child’s mental capacity may be developmentally disabled, which is why the 18-year-old was still treated as a minor. Wilson called the scene “pure evil.”
On July 7, Archer asked Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers to appoint special prosecutors. Rogers signed orders that day naming Wilson, Assistant Attorney General Kara Keating and Highland County Prosecutor Anneka P. Collins to help handle the case without compensation. Archer said the matter remained a Vinton County case even as the attorney general’s office offered support.
Gary Siders Jr. also had a separate arrest warrant requested June 29 and served June 30 for four public-indecency charges tied to incidents at the family’s Ohmer Street home on May 23, May 27, May 29 and May 31. South Central Ohio Job and Family Services said its overall census jumped 55% and the number of children in temporary custody more than doubled, prompting state officials to seek $1 million in emergency funding to help pay for care.
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