The grandfather of 16 children rescued from a rental house in Vinton County is due in court Sept. 9 for a hearing on his mental competency.
In July 2026, the parents of 16 children, Gary Jr. and Elizabeth Siders, and the grandparents, Gary Sr. and Christina Siders, pleaded not guilty to felony child endangerment. Gary Jr. and Elizabeth – as well as Josh Saunders and Brandon Henderson, part of the extended Siders family – also face child sex abuse charges.
Two months ago, Vinton County Common Pleas Court Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers ordered that Siders, Sr. be evaluated for his ability to understand the case against him and assist with his own defense and whether he is not guilty by reason of insanity.
The evaluation report, by Forensic Diagnostic
Center of District Nine in Cambridge, was due under seal to the court by Aug. 9. If the evaluator determined that Siders is not capable of assisting in his own defense, the evaluator is supposed to give an opinion on the chances that he could be restored to competency within a year.
Siders' wife, Christina Siders, and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Siders, are supposed to be evaluated for mental competency.
Siders, Sr.'s attorney Dorian Baum said in a written statement that the grandfather was initially charged with 17 second-degree felonies, which was chiseled to 16 a day later. The grand jury later handed down 10 third-degree felonies and six misdemeanor counts against him.
"It is certainly interesting that over a span of a month and a half, the number and severity of the charges against Mr. Siders, Sr. has already continued to decrease significantly, with the State already admitting that further investigation continues to be necessary and ongoing, and the defense’s investigation stillyet to truly begin in earnest," Baum said in the statement.
He said prosecutors and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson have been attempting to "pre-try" the case in the court of public opinion and manipulate the narrative.
This story will be updated.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Grandfather to 16 Siders kids due in court over competency question
