A motion filed on behalf of a grandmother facing 16 charges accusing her of abusing her grandchildren provides the first new details about how the children were discovered and the conditions they were living in.
Kandra Roberts, the attorney representing Christina Siders, filed a request July 28 in Vinton County Common Pleas Court, asking a judge to reduce the 67-year-old woman’s bond.
Siders remains in jail in lieu of a $300,000 bond. She and her husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, as well as their son and daughter-in-law, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, face 16 counts each of felony child endangerment. Elizabeth, Christina and Gary Siders Jr. all remain in jail on $300,000 bonds. Gary Siders Sr. had his bond reduced to a recognizance bond as he remains hospitalized and receives treatment for a serious medical condition.
In the request to reduce Christina Siders’ bond, Roberts provides new insight into how Vinton County authorities and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation came to be at the Siders’ home on June 30.
The motion says authorities went to the Ohmer Street home in Hamden to serve a misdemeanor warrant for Gary Siders Jr. He also faces four misdemeanor counts of public indecency, according to court records.
According to the motion, Christina Siders was the “only adult in the home” who was providing for the family.
“Defendant paid for rent, utilities and other necessities in the home,” the motion says. “Despite her own medical conditions, Defendant was also tasked with caring for her husband and his significant medical needs and physical limitations.”
The motion does not identify how Siders earned an income or elaborate on her health conditions. A gag order has been issued in Christina Siders’ case that prevents her attorney or others involved in the case from providing more information.
“The nature and circumstances of the crimes charged, despite initial hyperbolic statements by officials and excessive public speculation and media coverage, involve no evidence that the alleged acts involved violence, physical harm, weapons or an ongoing threat to public safety,” the motion says.
“The available facts indicate that the charges pertain to allegations that Defendant, along with her husband, permitted her son, her daughter-in-law and their children to reside in her home,” the motion says.
Roberts wrote in the motion that Christina Siders fully cooperated with police and gave a statement to detectives. The unsanitary conditions in the home – which resulted in the 16 children between the ages of 18 months and 18 years – being removed, are the sole basis of the charges currently filed against her.
“There is no evidence that Defendant participated in any acts of abuse causing serious physical harm to any of the alleged victims,” the motion says.
Roberts is requesting a judge to reduce Christina Siders’ bond and to allow her to live with close family members in the area while wearing a GPS monitor.
“Defendant has resided in southeastern Ohio all her life. Defendant has no family or other connections outside of the area,” the motion says.
In addition to the bond reduction motion, Roberts also requested her client undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Gary Siders Jr.’s attorney, Lee Roberts, has requested a competency evaluation and asked to be able to file relevant documents under a court-ordered seal.
Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers had not ruled on either Siders’ requests as of July 28.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New motion reveals how Vinton County police found Siders children
Reporting by Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
