The state of Ohio is expected to award $1 million to assist the 16 “almost feral” children rescued from a feces-filled house of horrors – as prosecutors consider putting their parents and grandparents permanently behind bars.
A state legislative panel on Monday is expected to approve a request from the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to provide the additional state cash to rural Vinton County to assist the victims in the sickening child-abuse case.
The Siders siblings range in age from 18 months to 18 years, and some have been described as “almost feral” by authorities, and unable to speak.
Removing the children from their home instantly more than doubled the number of kids in temporary custody in Vinton — a daunting challenge for a county with just 12,600 residents and the smallest budget among Ohio’s 88 counties.
That’s why the state is stepping in with the $1 million.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer Jr., said the medical care cost for one defendant alone — the children’s grandfather Gary Siders Sr. — would have bankrupted the county. This led the court to change the grandfather’s bond and release him from jail on his own recognizance for hospital care, so the county wouldn’t have to foot the bill.
Archer said Siders Sr. had fallen at the jail, and it became apparent that he “has a serious medical condition that requires specialized care.”
“Based on the information the county was provided, his medical care could potentially bankrupt Vinton County,” Archer told reporters Wednesday.
“We were not going to put that burden also on our local taxpayers.”
Siders Sr. had been held in a county jail on $300,000 cash bond; along with his wife Christina Sanders, 67; son Gary Siders Jr., 36; and daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Siders, 33.
The couples’ are collectively facing 68 felony child endangerment charges after authorities allegedly discovered all 16 victims suffering from serious physical harm inside the home on June 30.
The Siders were arrested after local cops went to their Hamden home to carry out a warrant for an unrelated investigation – and allegedly found the kids living inside a horrific cramped 12-by-12 room littered with feces.
The siblings — who are believed to belong to Gary Siders Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Siders — were taken to hospitals across Ohio following the rescue, some in serious condition, cops said.
They have never been enrolled in school, can barely communicate – and some cannot speak at all, according to authorities.
The Department of Children and Youth estimates that placement costs for the siblings will run between $150 and $250 per child daily — adding to roughly $850,000 a year, or more than three times the amount generated by Vinton County’s levy that’s split between children’s and senior services.
South Central Ohio Job & Family Service is consulting with its attorneys about setting up a trust for the the siblings after an influx of financial and other types of donations poured in following news of the case, the regional government agency said on Facebook.
The state cash headed to Vinton County will allow the agency to “ensure vulnerable children receive the safety, treatment, and support they urgently require,” the funding request said.
Additional expenses, such as court costs and police overtime associated with the case, can also be covered with the state money.
With Post wires
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