Six people are now charged after a series of investigations in Vinton County led to the discovery of 16 children living inside a dilapidated home under conditions authorities say were unsafe and hazardous.
Vinton County officials said the investigation began in late 2025 when diligent clerks at a Dollar General store in Hamden called authorities with concerns about children they saw.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said his office asked for assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's special victims unit in December 2025. The investigation at that time involved allegations of child sexual abuse and two children.
Through the course of that investigation, Cain said that authorities in March began a related investigation into allegations
of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
On June 30, authorities went to a home on the 100 block of Ohmer Street in Hamden to serve a search warrant and collect DNA from Gary Siders Jr., Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said. The 16 children and the conditions in which they were living were discovered during the execution of that warrant.
A Vinton County grand jury issued indictments on Aug. 21 against four members of the Siders family living on Ohmer Street, as well as two other relatives.
Those charged are: Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 67, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, as well as Joshua Saunders, 23, and Brandon Henderson Sr., 40.
Saunders is the nephew of Gary Siders Jr. and grandson of Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders. Henderson is the partner of Saunders' mother.
Cain and Archer said Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders are also charged in connection with one of the sexual abuse investigations. Those charges involve alleged conduct between January and September 2022 and a minor who was more than 10 years younger than them. That child is not an immediate family member, authorities said.
Details about the allegations against Saunders and Henderson were not immediately available.
Here is what each person is charged with, according to the Ohio Attorney General's office:
Gary Siders Sr., age 73
- 10 counts of endangering children, all third-degree felonies
- Six counts of endangering children, first-degree misdemeanors
Christina Siders, age 67
- Two counts of endangering children, second-degree felonies
- 10 counts of endangering children, third-degree felonies
- Seven counts of endangering children, all first-degree misdemeanors.
Gary Siders Jr., age 36
- Two counts of endangering children, second-degree felonies
- 10 counts of endangering children, third-degree felonies
- Seven counts of endangering children, all first-degree misdemeanors
- Two counts of sexual battery, third-degree felonies
- Two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, third-degree felonies
Elizabeth Siders, age 33
- Two counts of endangering children, second-degree felonies
- 10 counts of endangering children, third-degree felonies
- Seven counts of endangering children, all first-degree misdemeanors.
- Two counts of sexual battery, third-degree felonies
- Two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, third-degree felonies
Joshua Saunders, age 23
- Three counts of rape, all first-degree felonies
- One count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony.
Brandon Henderson Sr., age 40
- One count of endangering children, second-degree felony
- Two counts of endangering children, third-degree felonies
- Four counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies
- Four counts of gross sexual imposition, third-degree felonies
- Eight counts of sexual battery, fourth-degree felonies
- Two counts of endangering children, first-degree misdemeanors
The indictments had not been docketed in Vinton County Common Pleas Court as of 4:30 p.m. Aug. 21.
What are the possible sentences for felonies in Ohio?
Under Ohio law, these are the possible sentences for felonies that can be imposed by a judge.
- First-degree felony: Up to 11 to 16½ years with a presumption for prison time being served
- Second-degree felony: Up to eight to 12 years with a presumption for prison time being served
- Third-degree felony: Up to three or five years in prison, based on the charge, or probation
- Fourth-degree felony: Up to 18 months in prison and/or five years of probation
- Fifth-degree felony: Up to one year in prison and/or five years of probation
First-degree misdemeanors have a maximum possible sentence of 180 days in jail. Sexually based convictions also require registration as a sex offender.
What does Ohio say sexual conduct and sexual contact are?
Ohio law defines sexual conduct as intercourse involving vaginal or anal penetration "however slight," or oral sex, either male or female. The act can be done with a part of the body, genitalia or another object.
Sexual contact is defined as any touching of an erogenous zone for sexual arousal or gratification. Erogenous zones could include the thigh, genitals, buttocks, pubic region or breast.
What is rape?
Ohio law defines rape as engaging in sexual conduct with another without consent, by force or with a child under the age of 13 under any circumstance.
What is gross sexual imposition?
Gross sexual impositionis defined by Ohio law as sexual contact by force, without consent or with a child under the age of 13.
What is sexual battery?
Ohio law says sexual battery involves either sexual conduct or contact with someone through coercion or impairment, or while the person is unaware the act is being committed.
What is unlawful sexual conduct with a minor?
Ohio law says unlawful sexual conduct with a minor occurs when someone who is 18 or older engages in sexual conduct when someone is between the ages of 13 and 16 or the defendant is more than 10 years older than the alleged victim.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What do charges against six Vinton County adults mean? What we know.
