THE LAWYER FOR THE FATHER IN OHIO’S “HOUSE OF HORR0RS” CASE…

🚨 THE LAWYER FOR THE FATHER IN OHIO’S “HOUSE OF HORR0RS” CASE HAS JUST PRESENTED A NEW LEGAL ARGUMENT… THIS MOVE COULD IMPACT HOW THE CASE UNFOLDS

Gary Siders II, who was arrested amid a raid to remove his 16 children from his home on June 30, is requesting a competency evaluation.

Gary and Elizabeth Siders.Credit : SOUTHEASTERN OHIO REGIONAL JAIL

New details are being revealed about the father of 16 children who were found confined to a single room inside an Ohio “House of Horrors.”

An attorney for Gary Siders II has filed a motion with the court suggesting that his client may not be fit to stand trial.

“Defendant’s competency to stand trial has been raised, and the documents at issue concern Defendant’s present mental condition and request for psychiatric examination,” attorney R. Lee Roberts wrote in a motion for leave filed on July 24 and obtained by PEOPLE.

Roberts also requested in his motion that he be allowed to file the documents supporting his request for an evaluation under seal because they “contain highly sensitive mental-health information, or information directly reflecting [Gary II’s] psychiatric condition.”

This move to restrict public access to these records comes on the heels of Roberts’ July 14 request for a gag order, arguing that it is necessary to keep the details of his client’s case under seal in order to protect his right to a fair trial.

Gary Siders II.Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Gary II, 36, is charged with 16 counts of child neglect after his 16 children were found packed into a single room of his home “covered in bugs and squatting” with a “distant look in their eyes,” according to Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.

That raid and the arrest of Gary II, his wife Elizabeth Siders and his parents Christina Siders and Gary Siders Sr. happened on June 30 in Hamden, a village 75 miles south of Columbus.

That is the same day public indecency charges were formally filed against Gary II, and the same day that the local sheriff’s office was approved to serve a summons to him at his residence. He is charged with four misdemeanor counts in that case.

The case report does note that all four counts pertain to an alleged violation of an Ohio code that forbids “recklessly” “expos[ing] the person’s private parts.”

Gary had been due to appear in court for a hearing about those charges on July 23, but the hearing was moved back to August 13.

He remains in the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail where he is being held on a $300,000 bond.

SOURCE: https://people.com/ohio-house-of-horrors-dad-requests-mental-competency-evaluation-12026793