Judge reacts in court and confirms max sentence for family who held 16 bug-covered kids captive

Last week, police arrested two parents and two grandparents after finding 16 kids in “deplorable” conditions compared to those in “third-world” countries.

Dad Gary Siders Jr, 36, mum Elizabeth Siders, 33, and grandparents Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 77, were all arrested and charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment last week. They all pleaded not guilty.

“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” the attorney general said. “It was terrible. They looked like almost feral animals.”

Of the 16 kids, seven were taken to hospitals in Columbus, Ohio, as two more were flown to a level one trauma centre. One of the kids was in critical condition.

The Siders family appeared in court late last week

At a court hearing on July 1, when the parents and grandparents pleaded not guilty, Vinton County’s Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers issued a stark warning.

“They [prosecutors] are asking that you have no contact with your co-defendants – that means each other. I presume the jail will keep you from having contact with the other two co-defendants if you remain in jail,” she said, as per AP. “No contact with the alleged victims of the offence; and if you are released, that you be fitted with a GPS monitor at state’s expense.”

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The defendants appeared in court via video link, with the judge informing Gary Siders Jr and Gary Siders Sr of their options.

She explained: “You have four pleas available to you. A plea of guilty is a complete admission of your guilt. A not guilty plea is a complete denial of your guilt. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is an admission to the facts that underlie the complaint.

Credit: Southern Ohio Regional Jail

“If you plead no contest, the state would give me a statement of facts, and it would be up to the court to determine whether or not you were guilty of the charged offences based on those facts.”

Setting all four bonds at $300,000, the judge said each charge carries a potential prison sentence of two to eight years. If found guilty on all counts, each of the family members could face 192 years in prison.

“It’s important that everybody is entitled the presumption of innocence, Mr. Siders is just like everyone else in this country. And whatever you may think you know, or whatever you may have heard out, there is certainly only one side of the story. It’s only the story that’s been released by the state,” Gary Siders Sr’s lawyer, Dorian Baum, said.

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Featured image credit: WSAZ