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(NewsNation) — The Ohio child endangerment case known as the "House of Horrors" is drawing questions about how the children's mother was legally allowed to marry at just 15 years old.

Elizabeth Siders, now 33, along with her husband and his parents, was arrested June 30 for allegedly endangering their 16 children, who authorities said were living in squalid conditions.

 Who is Elizabeth Siders, mom in Ohio 'House of Horrors'? 

Attention has turned to Siders' own past after court records revealed she was just 15 years old when she married Gary Siders Jr, then 18, in neighboring West Virginia.

According to court records obtained by NewsNation local affiliate WOWK, a West Virginia judge approved the couple's marriage in March 2008 after Elizabeth Siders' parents gave consent.

At the time, West Virginia law didn't set a minimum age for marriage, meaning a 15-year-old could legally marry with parental consent.

 Ohio 'House of Horrors' timeline: What happened to the 16 children 

"The judge absolutely could have stopped this marriage," Amanda Alexander, a West Virginia family law attorney, told WSYX-TV.

However, she said judges weren't required by law to investigate circumstances before approving the license.

Alexander said she would have wanted additional safeguards, including interviewing the minor separately and appointing a guardian ad litem to determine whether coercion or abuse was involved.

In 2023, West Virginia lawmakers considered banning marriage for anyone under 18. Still, they ultimately passed a law allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to marry without parental or court approval if the couple is no more than four years apart in age. The law still doesn't require courts to investigate before approving a marriage.

Alexander said courts should be asking more questions to ensure minors aren't being victimized.

Authorities have not said whether Elizabeth Siders is being investigated solely as a suspect or whether she may also be considered a victim.

When asked whether investigators were examining that possibility, Vitton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said it remains part of the ongoing investigation.

 Did systemic failures lead to abuse of 16 children in Ohio home? 

Multiple reports, which NewsNation has not confirmed, claimed Elizabeth Siders had 20 children, beginning at age 13. Authorities have so far only confirmed 16 children were removed from the home. Her attorney, Thomas Stolly, previously said all are biologically hers.

The oldest child found, an 18-year-old, was born two months after the couple wed. That means Elizabeth Siders was a minor when she gave birth to her first child with a man who was a legal adult.

Former lead Susan Smith trial prosecutor Tommy Pope previously told NewsNation's "Jesse Weber Live" that the circumstances surrounding the marriage raise questions about whether she had been trapped in a cycle of abuse from a young age.

 What's next for the 16 rescued Ohio children in 'House of Horrors'? 

"It almost seems like the worst of circumstances," Pope said. "To her credit, they kept the child and they chose life. But it seems like she's been locked in that cycle, obviously, based on the number of kids."

Social media posts reviewed by Los Angeles Magazine include a claim from a man identifying himself as Elizabeth Siders' brother, who said she had been "indoctrinated."

NewsNation's Ashley N. Soriano contributed to this report.

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