16名儿童从俄亥俄州的一个家庭中被带走后，四人被指控危害儿童，官员称他们生活在“悲惨的条件下”
当局周二在文顿县哈姆登的家中执行了搜查令，他们说在那里发现了孩子和四名嫌疑人。
俄亥俄州总检察长安迪·威尔逊表示，该案件的证据“令人难以理解”
他在周三的新闻发布会上说，“我认为，如果他们再等24小时，我们很有可能会处理这些儿童的一个或多个死亡病例。”
文顿县检察官威廉·阿彻说，这不是一起人口贩运案件，而是一起“家庭内部的情况”
在周三的新闻发布会上，他将嫌疑人描述为“奶奶、爷爷、爸爸和妈妈”。
四名嫌疑人——73岁的加里·赛德斯;克里斯蒂娜·赛德斯，67岁;加里·赛德斯二世，36岁;据官员称，33岁的伊丽莎白·赛德斯(Elizabeth Siders)被控16项危害儿童罪，这是二级重罪。在周三上午的传讯中，他们不认罪，他们的保释金定为每人30万美元。官员们说，他们可能会要求法院指定律师。
指控称四名嫌疑人虐待儿童，导致“严重的身体伤害”
据威尔逊说，这些孩子的年龄从1岁到18岁不等。他没有透露受伤的性质，但表示周二有七名儿童被送往医院，包括两名被空运到那里的儿童。威尔逊说，其中一个孩子情况危急。
阿彻说，孩子们是安全的，官员们正在努力让他们被临时监护。
“他们目前情况良好，受到保护，”他说。
威尔逊说，调查已经进行了一段时间，一项独立但“平行”的调查导致执法部门周二执行了搜查令。
据威尔逊说，这家人在过去的四年里一直住在文顿县，而且“明显在四处奔波”。
“他们非常擅长让这些孩子远离视线和调查的目光，”他说。
据威尔逊说，这些孩子没有上学。官员们说，最大的孩子被包括在指控之内，因为18岁的孩子被认为在发育上仍然是未成年人。
“这些孩子中有些甚至不会说话，”威尔逊说。“太可怕了。”
文顿县治安官瑞恩·凯恩形容房子的状况“令人恶心”，包括存在人类粪便，并说孩子们基本上被限制在一个小区域内。
凯恩在周三的简报会上说:“我们大多数牲畜的状况都比孩子们好。”。
俄亥俄州州长迈克·德温称这种情况是“悲剧性的”
德温在一份声明中说:“得知这些孩子的生活条件和他们的医疗状况令人心碎。”该声明还感谢了那些帮助他们的人。
16 children rescued from 'deplorable conditions' in Ohio home, officials say: 'Beyond comprehension'
Four people have been charged with child endangerment after 16 children were removed from a home in Ohio where officials say they were living in "deplorable conditions."
Authorities executed a search warrant at the home in Hamden in Vinton County on Tuesday, where they say they found the children and four suspects inside.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the evidence in the case is "beyond comprehension."
"I think if they would have waited another 24 hours, that there was a very high probability that we'd be dealing with a death or multiple deaths of these children," he said during a press briefing on Wednesday.
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said this is not a case of human trafficking, but an "intra-family situation."
He described the suspects as being the "grandma, grandpa, father and mother" during Wednesday's press briefing.
The four suspects -- Gary Siders Sr., 73; Christina Siders, 67; Gary Siders II, 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33 -- have each been charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, according to officials. They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment Wednesday morning and their bond was set at $300,000 each. They will likely request court-appointed counsel, officials said.
The charges allege the four suspects abused the children, resulting in "serious physical harm."
The children range in age from 1 ½ to 18, according to Wilson. He did not go into the nature of the injuries but said seven of the children were transported to the hospital on Tuesday, including two who were airlifted there.One of the children was in critical condition, Wilson said.
Archer said the children are safe and officials are working to have them placed in temporary custody.
"They are currently in a good situation and are being protected," he said.
Wilson said the investigation has been ongoing for some time, and that a separate but "parallel" investigation led law enforcement to execute the search warrant on Tuesday.
The family had lived in Vinton County for the past four years and were "clearly bouncing around," according to Wilson.
"They were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of investigative eyes," he said.
The children were not enrolled in school, according to Wilson. The eldest child is included among the charges because the 18-year-old is believed to developmentally still be a minor, officials said.
"Some of these children couldn't even speak," Wilson said. "It was terrible."
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the condition of the house as "disgusting," including the presence of human feces, and said the children were largely confined to a small area.
"Most of our livestock is kept in better condition than the children," Cain said during Wednesday's briefing.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the situation "tragic."
"It is heartbreaking to learn the conditions that these children were living in, and to learn of their medical conditions," DeWine said in a statement, which also thanked those helping them.
