The cages, some of which were stacked, offered cramped quarters for 11 adopted children who were confined in them. Evidence indicates some of the children tried to escape.
"They were all different sizes," said Huron County Sheriff's Lt. Randy Sommers, the primary investigator of suspected child abuse in the sheriff's office and one of four sheriff's deputies who visited the home Friday.
The lieutenant also said none of the cages were tall enough for the children to stand in or appeared long enough for them to fully extend their bodies when lying down.
Authorites removed the 11 children from the Gravelles' home. Prosecutors are investigating the case, although no charges have been filed and no arrests have been made. The case has generated national interest.
http://www.norwalkreflector.com/fullstory.html?sku=2005091312312340331&s=frontpage
They looked like perfectly normal kids, riding bicycles in the streets and playing on a plastic jungle gym in their backyard. But neighbors had one nagging question about Michael and Sharen Gravelle's 11 children:
How could all of them, 1 to 14 years in age, possibly live in such a small home?
Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said Wednesday that his office was still investigating the case, which has focused national attention on a sleepy rural area. Though no decision has been made, Leffler said potential criminal charges against the couple could include abduction, unlawful restraint and child endangering.
"We're still trying to figure out where all the kids came from," he said after a long meeting with sheriff's deputies. "This has become a very complicated case."
The couple's lawyer, David Sherman, did not return phone calls.
But he issued a news statement Wednesday evening, saying that the Gravelles, with the approval of a social worker, had constructed "enclosures" around their beds, because the children demonstrated "extreme behavioral problems" and that "traditional methods of behavior control were unsuccessful."
Although details are sketchy, police documented a chilling scene when they entered the home last week. Jo Johnson, a children's services investigator, said there were "11 cages divided into three areas for the children to sleep in and/or for their punishments to be administered," according to the complaints in juvenile court.
She said the cages were approximately 30 inches wide, 40 inches high and 4 feet long; they were stacked in pairs and used for sleeping. Wire fencing covered the openings, and there were alarms on the doors to alert the Gravelles whenever a child attempted to leave. Two of the cages were blocked by a large dresser, Johnson said.
She said the couple told her that the cages had been in use for two years. They said a psychologist, who was not identified, had told them this was an efficient way to discipline and control children who might otherwise be considered unruly. The parents added that the cages were also meant to protect the children from each other.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...ep15,1,3128744.story?coll=la-headlines-nation