Gallia County Children’s Services documented roaches, flies, gnats, medical concerns and high lead levels in the children before taking the family to juvenile court in 2021

Newly obtained Gallia County court records show investigators were concerned about the Siders children and conditions inside the family home as far back as 2020. This is years before the same 16 children were removed from a Hamden house and a new investigation resulted in twisted, new 𝘴єx-𝘢bu𝘴e and child-endangerment indictments.

Amid a new wave of indictments against Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and two other men connected to the larger investigation (Josh Saunders and Brandon Henderson Sr.), juvenile court records reviewed by Los Angeles show child welfare had intervened with members of the Siders family more than five years earlier.

The newly obtained records (from a Los Angeles FOIA request) come from Gallia County, Ohio, and date to late 2020 and 2021. They show that parallel juvenile cases were opened for the children in the household, with individual case numbers assigned to each child but with the same allegations, filings and court proceedings repeated across the cases. In the records, Gary Siders II and Elizabeth Siders are identified as the parents.

OHIO HOUSE OF HORRORS 🤯

Gallia County Juvenile Court records (from an older FOIA request) show that Children’s Services had concerns about the Siders family years before the current investigation. The agency opened a case in December 2020 after the children were found to have high levels of lead. When a caseworker eventually got inside the home (they would not let her in the first time she arrived, per reports), she reported bruising on the children, roaches, flies and gnats, along with concerns about the cleanliness of the home, the children’s medical care and difficulties getting access to some of the children. There were also concerns that one of the children, who was 5 at the time, could not speak.

Children’s Services believed the conditions were serious enough to take the family to court, telling a judge the children could be at risk without supervision. The judge allowed the children to remain in the home with Gary Siders II and Elizabeth Siders, but ordered the family to remain under the ongoing supervision of Children’s Services… I’ll have more when I have some time to dive in, in full. @lamag

— Lauren Conlin (@conlin_lauren) August 24, 2026

According to an affidavit from Gallia County Children’s Services caseworker Erin R. Canter, the agency began investigating the family on December 7, 2020, after concerns involving high levels of lead in several children. A caseworker went to the home the following day but was denied access to the children, according to the filing. The worker returned December 9 and was reluctantly allowed inside.

What the caseworker described went well beyond concerns about lead exposure.

The affidavit cited an infestation of roaches, flies and gnats, concerns about the cleanliness of the house and children, missed medical appointments and difficulties even identifying some of the children. The filing also described concerns about one young child’s speech development (or lack thereof), bruising, and whether the children were receiving appropriate medical care. Again, the caseworker also noted they were barred from entering the home when they attempted to investigate.

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Children’s Services told the court it believed the children were at risk of harm and sought court-ordered protective supervision.

At a January 26, 2021 shelter-care hearing, the court found there were reasonable grounds to believe the child named in that particular case was “in danger from her surroundings” and that protective supervision was necessary to prevent physical or emotional harm.

The children were not removed from the parents at that point.

The court ordered that they remain in the custody of Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders while Gallia County Job & Family Services provided ongoing protective supervision. Court records show parallel cases were filed for the individual children, each carrying its own juvenile case number.

Court dockets reflect the proceedings were followed by review hearings, while protective supervision continued, but the children remained in the care of Gary Jr. and Elizabeth. The court also appointed a CASA/guardian ad litem to independently represent the interests of the children and authorized the GAL to obtain records relevant to the investigation.

By May 2021, court records show the children were still living with their parents under Children’s Services supervision, with another review hearing scheduled for August. It’s unclear to Los Angeles if there was a permanent resolution, other than the Siders family eventually moving out of Gallia County.

The old juvenile records take on new meaning following Friday’s indictments in neighboring Vinton County.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office announced that a grand jury returned indictments stemming from three related investigations involving alleged child 𝘴єxual 𝘢bu𝘴e and child endangerment. The investigation began in December 2025 with allegations of 𝘴єxual 𝘢bu𝘴e involving two children and eventually led authorities to the Siders family.

Josh Saunders, 23, was indicted on three counts of rαp̰̃є and one count of gross 𝘴єxual imposition. Brandon Henderson Sr., 40, was indicted on 21 counts, including rαp̰̃є, gross 𝘴єxual imposition, child endangerment and charges involving obscene material.

Vinton County prosecutors say information uncovered during that investigation led the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to open a second investigation in March involving alleged unlawful 𝘴єxual conduct with a minor. That investigation led to Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders, who were each indicted on two counts of 𝘴єxual battery and two counts of unlawful 𝘴єxual conduct with a minor. Authorities allege the conduct occurred between January and September 2022 and involved a minor more than 10 years younger than the couple.

The investigation brought authorities to the Siders’ Ohmer Street home in Hamden on June 30 while looking to obtain Gary Jr.’s DNA in connection with the 𝘴єx-𝘢bu𝘴e investigation. Authorities discovered 16 children living in conditions investigators described as “deplorable,” triggering a third investigation and eventual charges.

Gary Jr., Elizabeth, Gary Sr. and Christina Siders have since been indicted on numerous child-endangerment charges connected to the conditions in which authorities say the children were living.

The Saunders and Henderson names also intersect with the Siders family beyond the initial investigative trail.

Family records identify Virginia Siders Saunders as Gary Siders Jr.’s sister. Virginia married Joshua D. Saunders in 2003. The newly indicted 23-year-old Josh Saunders is reportedly Virginia’s son.

That family relationship is potentially important because prosecutors have characterized the 𝘴єx-𝘢bu𝘴e investigation as involving “intrafamily relationships,” while stressing that the alleged conduct does not present a danger to the general public.

The newly released juvenile records establish something that predates the current criminal investigation by years: child-welfare authorities had already entered a Siders family home, documented troubling conditions, taken the matter before a juvenile court and obtained court-ordered protective supervision for the children beginning in early 2021.

What happened after those cases…including how long Children’s Services remained involved and why court supervision ultimately ended, could now become a major part of understanding the history leading up to the 2026 investigation.