The mother of 16 children who lived in squalid conditions in an Ohio home has pleaded not guilty to child endangerment, as well as sexual assault of a minor in a separate case. Elizabeth Siders, 34, appeared in Vinton County Court on Wednesday for her arraignment. She was arrested on June 30 along with her husband, Gary Siders Jr., and her in-laws Gary Siders Sr. and Christina Siders. Elizabeth Siders pleaded not guilty to 19 counts of child endangerment in the case involving her children. Prosecutors said the children were found in horrible conditions, in a house filled with feces, and that some of them were unable to speak. He also pleaded not guilty to two counts each of sexual assault and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in a separate case. NBC News has reached out to his attorney for comment. Siders and her husband were formally charged Aug. 21 in the sexual assault case. The indictments accuse Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders of sexual abuse against a minor, who was between the ages of 13 and 16 as of 2022. The allegations indicate that the victim was not one of Elizabeth Siders’ children, but describe her as acting “in loco parentis,” meaning she was responsible for the victim’s care. She bowed her head in court when a judge Wednesday ordered her not to have contact with her children, the minor victim or her husband. The judge set his bond at $250,000, in addition to his $300,000 bond for child endangerment. She remained in jail Thursday. Her defense attorney, Thomas Stolly, told the judge that she misses her children and questioned whether she herself is a victim. “We have a person in Elizabeth who was married at 15, who has essentially been pregnant for the better part of two decades, who has never fully gone through any postpartum period,” Stolly said, according to NBC affiliate WSAZ from Huntington, West Virginia. He said he was worried about the effects he might suffer from repeated births and lack of regular medical care. The Siders children, ages 1½ to 18, are in state custody. Stolly previously requested a competency evaluation for Elizabeth, which was granted last month. The results are pending.
