Ohio woman faces new sex abuse charges in 'house of horrors' case - USA Today

A mother arrested after police rescued more than a dozen children from a so-called Ohio "house of horrors" this summer is facing new charges after authorities learned she allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact with a minor.

Elizabeth Siders, 33, appeared in Vinton County Common Pleas Court on Sept. 16 to be arraigned on two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor after her arrest for child neglect, court papers reviewed by USA TODAY show.

Siders pleaded not guilty to the new charges as well as to 19 counts of child endangerment in what prosecutors called an "evil" case, after officials found the children living in "deplorable conditions" while executing a search warrant June 30 at their home.

Elizabeth Siders is one of four family members charged in the disturbing case centered around a home in the small village of Hamden in Vinton County, about 80 miles southeast of Columbus.

Her husband, Gary L. Siders Jr., 37, and his parents − Gary L. Siders Sr., 72, and Christina Siders, 68 − are also charged with multiple counts of felony child endangerment in the case. Police arrested all four in June.

"What we saw down here today is pure evil. Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children living in," County Prosecutor William Archer said during a press conference after the arrests.

At the time, the children ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years, Wilson said, and were removed from the home.

Several of the children had to be transported by medical helicopter because of their conditions, the prosecutor told reporters.

Judge Laina Featheroff Rogers set Elizabeth Siders' bond in the new case at $250,000. Online records show she and her husband remained incarcerated Sept. 17 at Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office disclosed the sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct charges in an Aug. 21 news release after a grand jury indicted Siders on the 19 counts of child endangerment.

New court documents show she is accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor, non-immediate family member in 2022. According to the indictment, Siders and her husband had been acting "in loco parentis" for the child, meaning they were the child's guardians at the time.

When Elizabeth Siders appeared in court for arraignment, she clutched her belly, prompting a reporter to ask whether she was pregnant, reported the Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Her attorney, Thomas Stolly, declined to address speculation that his client is pregnant, and said she "expresses concerns about her children," and that she is innocent until proven guilty.

"We have an individual in Elizabeth who was married at age 15, who has essentially been pregnant for the better part of two decades, who has never fully gone through any postpartum period," Stolly told the USA TODAY Network.

A competency evaluation will determine whether she may assist in her own defense, and whether she qualifies to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Attorneys have also sought competency evaluations for her husband and his mother.

During a Sept. 9 hearing, Rogers accepted an evaluation that found Gary Siders Sr. was not competent to assist his lawyers in his case and cannot be restored to competency.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.