Ohio Flooding Delays Court Hearings in Case Involving 16 Children Taken Into State Care
The court was closed Monday due to flooding and two adults charged in an Ohio child safeguarding investigation involving 16 children were postponed.
Brandon Henderson, 40, and Christina Siders, 68, were set for separate hearings on Sept. 21. Both proceedings will be rescheduled, although new dates had not been announced.
On June 30, four adults were arrested on child endangerment charges and the 16 children were placed in state custody. Later investigators found two other cases that were connected to the Siders family, raising the number of people charged in the cases to six.
Henderson, who was called the children’s uncle, is charged with 21 offenses, including gross sexual imposition, sexual battery and endangering children. The charges against his client are unrelated to the case of the 16 children and are in a different household, his lawyer, Dorian Baum, said.
The children’s grandmother, Siders, is charged with 19 counts of child endangerment. Her bond hearing was to be held to determine if she could be released from jail on GPS and other conditions. She is being held on a $300,000 bond.
Prosecutors have argued against her release, saying the allegations are serious and she is undergoing a competency evaluation. Her attorney has said that Siders has no criminal record, has been cooperative with investigators and would not be a threat to the children.
The 16 children are still in foster care with local children services agencies. They are kept confidential and Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said they are safe.
The case is still pending and the charges against the defendants have not been substantiated in court.
