COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Court records obtained by ABC6 Investigates reveal that years before the Vinton County child endangering case came to light, Gallia County schools went to court over chronic absenteeism involving members of the Siders family.
The records, filed in Gallia County Juvenile Court in October 2021, show attendance officers accused Elizabeth Siders and Gary Siders Jr. of failing to ensure multiple children attended school as required by law.
The filings are separate from the criminal child endangering case now pending in Vinton County and only list six of the 16 children now listed as victims after investigators removed them from their Hamden home last month.
Parents accused of allowing habitual truancy
The complaints were filed Oct. 19, 2021, by Gallia County Local Schools Attendance Officer Ronald L. Hammond.
According to the complaints, six children enrolled at Addaville Elementary School accumulated more than 72 hours of unexcused absences during the 2021-2022 school year, meeting Ohio’s definition of habitual truancy.
Separate complaints were filed against:
Elizabeth Siders as the parent or guardian.
Gary Siders Jr. as the parent or guardian.
The filings state the attendance officer had previously notified the parents or guardians that the children were not attending school and warned them of the consequences if the absences continued.
Court also declared children “unruly”
Separate juvenile complaints filed the same day classified several of the children as “unruly children” under Ohio law because of habitual truancy.
Those filings state the children failed to attend school, accumulated more than 72 hours of unexcused absences, and failed to make progress under an absence intervention plan.
Cases never moved forward
Less than three months later, on Jan. 7, 2022, Gallia County Juvenile Court Judge Thomas S. Moulton Jr. terminated each case.
The journal entries state that Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Jr., and the children “are unable to be served” and that their whereabouts were unknown to the court.
The judge ordered the matters terminated “until the availability” of the parties. The records do not indicate whether the cases were ever refiled.