Ohio mother of 16 not guilty plea
Ohio mother with 16 children pleads not guilty to s*xual abuse and child endangerment charges; lawyer mentions "postpartum."
Transcript (en)
At this time, we ask the court for delay consideration of the same, all addressed bonds specifically as to the new case. Obviously, the court has set the bond in the old case. We believe that that bond is sufficient as to both cases in this manner. My client has no ability to pay any cash or surety amount this time. We do believe that the bond that originally set in the 5-2 case is appropriate as two-foot cases. Thank you. Some of the things that we're looking at are part of the same reasons that I've raised competency concerns. So we have an individual in Elizabeth who was married at age 15. who has essentially been pregnant for the better part of two decades, who has never fully gone through any postpartum period, who has not been receiving regular medical care that would be appropriate for someone who has had 16, 18 children. So I have concerns about what effects those have had on her, what effect it has had on her being married at such a young age, being contained within the environment of the Siders household. and essentially not knowing any life outside of her. So we began this whole journey by saying she doesn't see herself as a victim, but that does not necessarily mean that she's not a victim. And it doesn't necessarily mean that there are not layers to be peeled back from this, especially as she spends time outside of the home, outside of the purview of this family that she has been with, contained with, for the better part of two decades. So yeah, the short answer is yes.
