McARTHUR, Ohio — A judge has dismissed the child endangerment case against Gary Siders Sr., the 73-year-old grandfather of 16 children taken from a home in Hamden in June, after finding he is mentally unable to stand trial and unlikely to regain competency.
The dismissal follows a Sept. 9 hearing in which Vinton County Common Pleas Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers accepted a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Siders Sr. The evaluation concluded he could not understand the proceedings against him or help his lawyers prepare a defense, and that his condition was not expected to improve.
The dismissal was entered without prejudice, meaning the charges could be refiled at a later date — though Baum has described his client’s condition as not restorable.
Defense attorney Dorian Baum told reporters after that hearing that his client’s mental health had been deteriorating for years and that doctors considered the decline permanent. Siders Sr., who appeared in court in a wheelchair, “doesn’t fully understand or appreciate what’s going on,” Baum said. Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer did not dispute the evaluation’s findings.
Siders Sr. had faced 16 counts of child endangerment — 10 third-degree felonies and six first-degree misdemeanors — stemming from the June 30 removal of the children from the family’s Hamden residence, where authorities said conditions were among the worst they had encountered.
A finding of incompetency is a ruling on a defendant’s fitness to be tried, not a verdict on the underlying allegations. The court entry says the court will retain jurisdiction over Siders so that a civil commitment proceeding can take place in probate court.
The case continues against three other family members — Siders Sr.’s wife, his son and his daughter-in-law — each of whom has pleaded not guilty to related charges. Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders also face felony sex-related charges tied to the investigation.
