(VINTON COUNTY, Ohio) — Four people have been charged with child endangerment after 16 children were removed from a home in Ohio where officials say they were living in “deplorable conditions.”
Authorities executed a search warrant at the home in Hamden in Vinton County on Tuesday, where they say they found the children and four suspects inside.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the evidence in the case is “beyond comprehension.”
“I think if they would have waited another 24 hours, that there was a very high probability that we’d be dealing with a death or multiple deaths of these children,” he said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said this is not a case of human trafficking, but an “intra-family situation.”
He described the suspects as being the “grandma, grandpa, father and mother” during Wednesday’s press briefing.
The four suspects — Gary Siders Sr., 73; Christina Siders, 67; Gary Siders II, 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33 — have each been charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, according to officials. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Wednesday morning and their bond was set at $300,000 each. They will likely request court-appointed counsel, officials said.
The charges allege the four suspects abused the children, resulting in “serious physical harm.”
The children range in age from 1 ½ to 18, according to Wilson. He did not go into the nature of the injuries but said seven of the children were transported to the hospital on Tuesday, including two who were airlifted there. One of the children was in critical condition, Wilson said.
Archer said the children are safe and officials are working to have them placed in temporary custody.
“They are currently in a good situation and are being protected,” he said.
Wilson said the investigation has been ongoing for some time, and that a separate but “parallel” investigation led law enforcement to execute the search warrant on Tuesday.
The family had lived in Vinton County for the past four years and were “clearly bouncing around,” according to Wilson.
“They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of investigative eyes,” he said.
The children were not enrolled in school, according to Wilson. The eldest child is included among the charges because the 18-year-old is believed to developmentally still be a minor, officials said.
“Some of these children couldn’t even speak,” Wilson said. “It was terrible.”
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the condition of the house as “disgusting,” including the presence of human feces, and said the children were largely confined to a small area.
“Most of our livestock is kept in better condition than the children,” Cain said during Wednesday’s briefing.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation “tragic.”
“It is heartbreaking to learn the conditions that these children were living in, and to learn of their medical conditions,” DeWine said in a statement, which also thanked those helping them.
An attorney for one of the suspects said that the case is in an “extremely preliminary stage.”
Gary Siders Sr. is “entitled to the same presumption of innocence that every person charged in this county should and does enjoy,” his attorney, Dorian Keith Baum, said in a statement on Thursday, in part.
“So while there is little ability to stop all speculation, conjecture, or uncorroborated guess-work from taking place, I would ask that we all let the process play out, irrespective of the sensationalist underpinnings of the allegations against Mr. Siders, so that we as his defense counsel can be provided with whatever evidence the State allegedly has in order to give it a thorough review and determine if the State can meet their burden of proof; or, alternatively, if Mr. Siders is actually not guilty of what is being alleged,” the statement continued.
ABC News’ Sasha Pezenik contributed to this report.
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