Christina’s two-person home after it was turned into a 20-person household overnight. Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP
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A new court filing reveals that Christina Siders was responsible for all financial obligations after her two-person household grew to 20
A lawyer for the grandmother of the 16 children rescued from an Ohio “House of Horrors” is revealing new details about the family’s living situation before the arrest of the four adults residing in the home.
Christina Siders is currently charged with 19 counts of child endangerment following her arrest in June: two second-degree felony counts, 10 third-degree felony counts and seven first-degree misdemeanor counts.
Her public defender is now responding to those child endangerment allegations, arguing that there is no evidence that Christina, 67, has ever “threatened anyone” and pointing out that she “was only around her grandchildren because her son and his wife decided to reside” at her home.
Those arguments are included in a motion seeking to modify Christina’s bond, which has been set at $300,000 for the child endangerment charges.
Christina is being represented by Kandra Roberts, who also writes in the motion that her client has “never, in her 67 years, been previously charged with a single criminal offense” and, as a result, has never failed to appear for a criminal proceeding, arguing that because of this, her client could not be considered a flight risk.
Roberts also revealed that Christina has been the sole source of income for the family, both when she was living in a two-person household with her husband Gary Siders Sr. and when it grew to a 20-person household.
“Defendant was the only adult in the home who had long been providing for all the other adults and all the children residing in her home,” Roberts writes, stating that Christina was responsible for paying “rent, utilities, and other necessities in the home.”
At the same time, Christina was providing care to her husband, whose medical needs are so significant that his bond was dismissed by the judge on account of the fact that he would likely not survive if he fled because he requires frequent medical treatment.
Roberts adds that in taking care of her husband’s medical needs, Christina ignored her own.
Christina “requires medical treatment related to her mental condition and many documented medical diagnoses, all of which can best be addressed while defendant is not incarcerated in jail,” Roberts says.
There was no immediate adjustment to Christina’s bond, but Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers did state that she would take the motion into consideration and issue a written order in her arraignment entry, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE.
Christina also entered a not guilty plea to all charges in court on Sept. 25.
Gary II and Elizabeth Siders Credit: SOUTHEASTERN OHIO REGIONAL JAIL
The 16 children rescued from the home on June 30 are all in the care of the county, and officials said that they are working to give them the treatment they need in the wake of their traumatic upbringing. The state of Ohio has released $1 million in emergency funds to Vinton County to care for the children.
Elizabeth had filed her motion for a reduced bond in hopes of reuniting with her children, but prosecutors wrote in their memorandum at the time that Elizabeth would be a “potential risk to the victims in this case” if released from jail.
She and husband Gary Siders II have also been indicted on additional charges after an investigation determined that the pair allegedly “engaged in sexual conduct with a minor more than 10 years younger than their own age,” according to Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.
The minor was not a member of the couple’s immediate family, was more than 10 years younger than the couple and the alleged incidents occurred between January and September 2022, according to a release from Wilson’s office.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said in a statement, however, that the “child sex abuse case involves intrafamily relations.”
Roberts did not respond to a request for comment.
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Read the original article on People