Two people connected to the investigation that ultimately led authorities to discover 16 children living in a Vinton County home have been indicted on multiple felony sex charges.
Joshua Saunders, 23, and Brandon Henderson Sr., 40, both of South Bloomingville in Hocking County, were indicted Aug. 21 in Vinton County Common Pleas Court, according to court records.
Both cases remain open and are assigned to Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers.
Saunders faces four charges: three counts of rape, all first-degree felonies, and one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony. Court records list Jan. 27, 2020, as the offense date for all four charges.
Henderson faces 21 charges, according to the court docket. The charges visible in online court records
include multiple counts of gross sexual imposition and a count of sexual battery.
Saunders is the son of Virginia Siders Saunders, nephew of Gary Siders Jr. and grandson of Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders, four members of the family at the center of the sprawling Vinton County child abuse investigation. Henderson is Saunders' mother's partner.
Among the charges displayed, Henderson faces third- and fourth-degree felony counts of gross sexual imposition stemming from Jan. 27, 2020. He also faces a third-degree felony count of sexual battery with an offense date of March 21, 2025.
The indictments were filed by Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer.
Court records show arraignment entries were filed for both men Aug. 24 and hearings were held the same day. Both cases remain pending.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain previously said his office requested help from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's special victims unit in December 2025 while investigating allegations of child abuse involving Saunders and Henderson.
Information uncovered during that investigation led authorities in March 2026 to open an investigation into the Siders family based on allegations of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
On June 30, authorities went to the Siders family's home on the 100 block of Ohmer Street in Hamden, about 80 miles southeast of Columbus, to collect Gary Siders Jr.'s DNA. It was during the execution of that search warrant that authorities discovered the 16 children, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer previously said.
Elizabeth Siders and Gary Siders Jr., the children's parents, are also facing two counts each of sexual battery and two counts each of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to a press release.
The Ohio Attorney General's office previously said those allegations involve a minor who is not an immediate family member and alleged conduct between January and September 2022. The minor is more than 10 years younger than the couple, according to the attorney general's office.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Indictments reveal details about new defendants connected to Siders case
