Elizabeth Siders is pregnant while facing more than a dozen counts of child endangerment charges in Ohio.
Her lawyer confirmed the pregnancy to PEOPLE this week. The mother of 16 appeared in court on Monday (November 9). She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Each of the four adults arrested in the case faces more than a dozen counts of child endangerment.
Siders’ husband, Gary Siders Jr., and his parents, Christina and Gary Siders Sr., are the other three defendants. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Pregnant Elizabeth Siders found competent to stand trial
The court found Siders competent to stand trial at her November 9 hearing, according to her lawyer.
Gary Siders Jr. is still awaiting the results of his own competency hearing.
The court also found Christina Siders unfit to stand trial following her competency hearing, as reported by PEOPLE. She owned the home in Hamden where authorities discovered the children.
Christina has “several risk factors for cerebrovascular dementia, and that a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is required to determine whether her cognitive impairment is the result of symptoms of dementia”, Dr. Brian P. O’Reilly wrote in a report.
Gary Siders Sr. had already received an unfit-to-stand-trial ruling before the latest development in Siders’ case.
Elizabeth Siders and Gary Jr. also face charges in a separate case, alongside the child endangerment proceedings.
Those allegations involve sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The couple have pleaded not guilty to the charges they face.
Elizabeth Siders case follows children’s removal
In June, local authorities rescued 16 children from the home in Hamden, Ohio, prompting the case involving the four adults.
The youngest child in the group was 18 months old. The oldest of those rescued was 18 years old.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said some of the children needed medical attention after authorities found them in “deplorable conditions”.
During a news conference over the summer, Wilson said: “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.”
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