Newly released court documents detail sexual abuse charges against a Vinton County couple whose 16 children authorities found June 30 in a small Hamden home.
A Vinton County grand jury indicted Elizabeth Siders, 34, on Aug. 21 with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of sexual battery. All four counts are third degree felonies. The Vinton County Clerk of Courts released the indictment immediately following Siders' arraignment on Sept. 16.
Siders also faces 19 counts of child endangerment after authorities found the children while searching the home as part of a child sex abuse case. Her husband, Gary Siders Jr., and his
parents, Gary L. Siders Sr. and Christina Siders, also face numerous child endangerment charges.
Siders pleaded not guilty to all the charges at a Sept. 16 arraignment.
In the indictment, prosecutors accuse Siders had sexual contact with a 13- to 16-year-old relative but not an immediate family member. A similar indictment for Gary Jr. also listed him as a non-immediate relative. The indictments allege the couple was acting "in loco parentis" for the child, meaning they were functioning as the child's guardians.
In remarks after the arraignment hearing, Elizabeth Siders' attorney, Thomas Stolly, said Vinton County uses "secret indictments," meaning it does not publicly disclose grand jury indictments before hearings.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office disclosed the sex abuse charges in an Aug. 21 news release.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New Vinton County court records detail Siders' sex abuse charges
