Elizabeth Siders, 34, the mother of 16 children discovered in what authorities described as a "House of Horrors" in Ohio, pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges on Wednesday. Siders appeared in Vinton County Common Pleas Court, seemingly shielding a protruding stomach beneath her prison garb. Her attorney, Tommy Stolley, declined to comment when asked if his client was pregnant.
Siders faces felony charges including two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. These charges stem from allegations that she and her husband, Gary Jr., sexually abused a child in their care between January and September 2022. The indictment identifies the alleged victim as their niece or nephew.
Gary Jr. Siders, 36, who remains incarcerated, previously pleaded not guilty to the sex charges and had his jail bond increased to $550,000. Elizabeth Siders remains held on a $500,000 bond, which was further increased by $250,000 following Wednesday's hearing.
Both Siders and her husband have also pleaded not guilty to 19 counts of child endangerment related to their own children. Authorities discovered the 16 children living in squalid conditions, in a 12-by-12 room inside the decrepit home. Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer stated that the investigation into the home began as an inquiry into family child sex abuse.
Elizabeth Siders is scheduled for a competency evaluation to determine her ability to stand trial. Her father-in-law, Gary Siders Sr., 73, was previously ruled incompetent to stand trial. Attorneys for Gary Jr. and his mother, Christina Siders, 68, have also sought competency evaluations for them, with results pending.
The investigation was initiated last December when the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Special Victims Unit looked into allegations of sexual abuse involving two children. This probe led to indictments against two other individuals: Joshua David Saunders, 23, and Brandon Scott Henderson Sr., 40. Saunders is reportedly the nephew of Gary Jr. Siders.
Authorities described the conditions within the home as "pure evil," with children subjected to "unimaginable conditions." Law enforcement officials noted that the children lived in a space covered in human feces, and that "most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children."