A family member related to the Ohio parents accused of child endangerment has expressed their perspective on the serious allegations.
Ronnie Fletcher, who is married to the daughter of accused Gary Siders, Sr., and Christina ‘Lynn’ Siders, has addressed the press regarding the ‘deplorable conditions’ he became aware of.
Fletcher conveyed to WOWK-TV the shock felt by the extended family when the accusations were revealed.
“Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family,” Fletcher stated to the outlet.
“What can I do to help?’ That was the original reaction to it.”
Siders Sr., his wife, their son Gary ‘Bub’ Siders, Jr., and his wife, Elizabeth Siders, each face 16 second-degree felony charges of child endangerment.
This follows the rescue of 16 children from a rural Ohio home, discovered in conditions described by authorities as ‘deplorable’ and ‘pure evil.’
Officials reported that the children, both boys and girls, ranged in age from one and a half to 18 years old.
The accused were detained on June 30 and entered not guilty pleas during a July 1 arraignment.
Although Fletcher and his wife are the children’s uncle and aunt, he shared with WOWK-TV that they had become ‘distant family’ due to infrequent contact over the years.
Fletcher clarified there was no animosity within the family, though they had drifted apart and lived independently.
The relative of the accused Ohio family stated: “It’s been awful for the people that had no idea that was going on the house that are related to this family.
“I mean, we’ve had death threats – we’ve been told that we need to be put in front of an execution line of guns and, you know, killed and burned. I mean, it’s been bad.”
Fletcher added: “If we would have known that it was like that in that home, we would have done something about it, even if it was just to go there and take the kids ourselves or give them money. Them girls [Gary Sr. and Christina’s daughters] would have went there and cleaned the house themselves if they’d known it was like that.”
He further mentioned that his children had to remove their social media accounts due to threats, while his wife has been unable to work because ‘she works within the public and she’s scared’.
Fletcher lamented that his family cannot lead ‘normal lives’ despite having ‘nothing to do with’ the child endangerment case.
Authorities revealed that none of the 16 children had been enrolled in school, resulting in some being unable to speak.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson remarked at a news conference: “These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids. We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there. It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible.”