Though they lived in Gallia County for more than a decade, records show that six of the 16 children found living in "deplorable" conditions in Vinton County were only enrolled in the local school district for two academic years.
According to school directory information obtained by The Dispatch, the eldest six children of Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders enrolled in Gallia County Local Schools on Aug. 26, 2020.
The children were also enrolled for the 2021-2022 school year. But in October 2021, Gallia County Juvenile Court filed six complaints against their parents for failing to send their children to school, according to court documents obtained by The Dispatch. The court also filed truancy complaints against the six children, who ranged
in age from 7 to 13 years old at the time and should have been attending Addaville Elementary School in the Gallia County Local School District.
Gary L. Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, each currently face 16 counts of felony endangering children in Vinton County Common Pleas Court. Gary L. Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, also face the same charges. Each charge is connected to a specific child, whom court documents identify by their initials and dates of birth, but the filings do not detail specific allegations.
State and local authorities searched a home June 30 in the village of Hamden where the four Siders adults were living. While inside the home, authorities said they found 16 children ages 18 months to 18 years in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room. Investigators did not know there would be children inside the home, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said.
Wilson said the children were not enrolled in school and alleged the adults “were hiding these kids” because they knew the children were neglected and would be taken away. The family also avoided creating any medical or legal records, he said.
According to Ohio law, a child between six and 18 years of age is "of compulsory school age" and is required to attend school.
Records obtained by The Dispatch show the Siders family had ties to multiple addresses in Gallia County between August 2009 and January 2024. However, birth records show that Elizabeth Siders had a listed address in Bloomer, Wisconsin, a rural area in the western part of that state when she gave birth to a child in February 2022. That child was born in Ohio at Holzer Medical Center.
Under Ohio law, failing to send a child of compulsory school age to school is a minor misdemeanor, punishable with a fine up to $500 and being required to post a bond up to $500 to ensure the child's future attendance
None of the complaints were ever served upon the Siders parents or the children, however, because they could not be located. Journal entries filed related to each of the complaints on Jan. 7, 2022, said the Siderses were unable to be served because their whereabouts were unknown to the court.
The Siders children were unenrolled from Gallia County Local Schools on April 12, 2022, after attending zero days during the 2021-22 school year. The Dispatch filed a public records request for home schooling documentation, but the request was denied citing student privacy laws.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gallia County records reveal new details about Siders kids' school enrollment | Exclusive
