One of the adults charged in a multi-layered investigation in Vinton County has formally pleaded not guilty in two different cases and had his bond nearly doubled.
Gary Siders Jr., 36, appeared Aug. 26 in Vinton County Common Pleas Court for an arraignment, according to online court records. The hearing was not listed on the docket prior to it taking place.
Siders pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of felony child endangerment and seven counts of misdemeanor child endangerment, as well as two counts each of sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Court records show Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers maintained a $300,000 bond in the child endangerment case, for which Siders has been in custody since his June 30 arrest. Fetherolf Rogers added
a $250,000 bond for the sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct charges, which were filed Aug. 21 as part of a separate indictment.
Siders and his wife, Elizabeth, are accused of having sexual contact with a minor who was at least 10 years younger than them between January and September 2022. That child is not one of their biological children, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said.
According to an indictment filed Aug. 21 with the Vinton County Clerk of Courts, but not publicly visible until Aug. 26, Siders Jr. is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a child for whom he was acting "in loco parentis," meaning in the place of a parent or guardian.
The indictment identifies Siders as an indirect family member of the child.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, faces the same charges as her husband. She has neither formally entered a plea nor does she have a court date listed as scheduled in her case, according to court records.
Siders' parents, Christina Siders, 67, and Gary Siders Sr., 73, have also not formally pleaded to the charges a grand jury filed against them Aug. 21. Christina Siders faces the same charges as her son and his wife, while Siders Sr. faces two fewer counts of felony child endangerment and one less misdemeanor count.
Christina Siders does not have a court date listed on her case's docket.
Siders Sr. is listed as having a hearing scheduled for Sept. 9 related to a psychological evaluation for which his attorney had asked. Siders Sr. remains free on a recognizance bond as he receives treatment for a "serious medical condition" discovered after a fall shortly after his arrest.
Two other adults, Josh Saunders and Brandon Henderson, are accused of sexual misconduct as part of the multi-tiered investigation announced Aug. 21.
Saunders is the nephew of Gary Siders Jr. and Henderson is the partner of Saunders' mother, who is Siders Jr.'s sibling.
The Ohio Attorney General's Office said the investigation into Saunders and Henderson began in late 2025 and later expanded to allegations involving the Siders family.
Authorities went to the Siders home in Hamden on June 30 to obtain a sample of DNA from Siders Jr. During the execution of that search warrant, police discovered the 16 children.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New details released in Gary Siders Jr. investigation as bond nearly doubles
