By: David Forster
Posted on: Tuesday, August 25, 2026

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A hearing has been scheduled to determine whether the grandfather in the Vinton County child endangerment case is competent to stand trial.

The evaluation hearing for Gary Siders Sr. is set for Sept. 9 in the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers will conduct the hearing, which will also include whether Siders should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Siders and three others were arrested in June after 16 children were found living in deplorable conditions in their home in the village of Hamden.

All four defendants, at their request, are being evaluated to determine whether they are competent to stand trial.

Gary Sr. and Elizabeth Siders, the children’s mother, are also being evaluated to determine whether they were insane at the time of the alleged crimes and therefore should be found not guilty.

The evaluations are done by psychiatrists, who will make a recommendation. It is then up to the judge to make the final decision for each defendant.

Gary Sr. was the first to request an evaluation and now will be the first to have a hearing before the judge.

The other two defendants are Christina Siders, the children’s grandmother, and Gary Siders Jr., the children’s father.

Last week a grand jury indicted the four on multiple charges each of felony and misdemeanor child endangerment.

Gary Jr. and Elizabeth also face charges of unlawful sexual contact and sexual battery involving a child who is not their own. Those charges stem from an investigation that led to a search warrant and the discovery of their children.

That investigation was itself a result of another investigation that led to the the arrest and indictment of two men last week on charges of sexual abuse involving children.

The two men, Josh Saunders and Brandon Henderson, pled not guilty at their arraignments on Monday.

Saunders faces three counts of rape and one count of gross sexual imposition.

Henderson faces eight counts each of gross sexual imposition and sexual battery and five counts of endangering children.

Bail for both men was set at $250,000.