16 children found in single room in Ohio ‘House of Horrors’ case

Authorities in rural Ohio have rescued 16 children from a squalid home where they were allegedly kept in a single room, with some described as “almost feral” by state officials. The case has sparked renewed debate over child marriage laws and the failure of welfare systems to detect the abuse.

The children, aged between 18 months and 18 years, were discovered on June 30 during a police search of a property in Hamden, a village of fewer than 1,000 residents about 130 kilometres south of Columbus. Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the scene as “disgusting,” adding that “most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children.” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the children “lookedlike