OH - Michael & Sharen Gravelle for child abuse, Clarksfield Twp, 2005

[HeartofTexas]

Another story of the abuse suffered by these kids, and an attempt to flee by one of the children in cages:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16132306&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=cage-kid-tore-wire-in-flee-bid--name_page.html

ONE of the 11 foster children forced to sleep in tiny cages by carers desperately tried to break free by clawing away at the chicken wire, it emerged yesterday.
​

Lt Randy Sommers, a policeman at the scene, said: "It takes a lot of determination to rip that wire, it's very tough.
​

A neighbour said he saw one of the boys hosed down outside by foster dad Michael Gravelle in bitterly cold weather.
​

 

[vanillasky]

HeartOfTexas, thank you for all those links, very informative!

 

[mysteriew]

Michael Gravelle's biological daughter gave an exclusive interview to NewsChannel5 Friday.

Jenna Gravelle said it was important to get her story out, NewsChannel5 reported. She was insistent on confirming her father sexually abused her and physically abused her brother.

She said Michael Gravelle and his second wife, Sharen, should never have been able to adopt children based on their treatment of their biological children.

Jenna, who did not appear on camera, said she fears for her safety and the safety of her young son.

"I was sexually abused as a child -- when my mom was still alive -- but as a child you don't really understand what's going on," she said.

She continued: "I had to pay rent. We weren't allowed to use their washing machine and dryer. They wouldn't buy us food or clothing. My little brother had rubber bands keeping his shoes together. The whole time I'd say, 'I wish they'd die. I wish they'd die.'"
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/wews/20050916/lo_wews/2941751

 

[mysteriew]

Two people who know Sharon and Michael Gravelle, the parents recently accused of keeping their children in cages, talked with NewsChannel5.

One man, known to the Gravelle children as "Uncle Artie," described the investigation into the Gravelles as a "witch hunt."

"What Sharon and Mike Gravelle did for those kids was for their own protection,? said Uncle Artie.

Artie is an ex-felon, and he did not want to show his face on camera.

He lived with the Gravelles for four months in 2003.

He showed NewsChannel5 an envelope postmarked to the Gravelle?s address.

Artie said he believes the Gravelles, who are white, are being persecuted for adopting 11 black children with special needs.

"The atmosphere surrounding them was hostile -- hostile neighbors that were offended that there were black children there," Artie said.

He said he also cared for the children, and he was also there when the Gravelles built the so-called cages, which he described as unlocked enclosures that were "practical."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/wews/20050916/lo_wews/2939532

 

[mysteriew]

The director of the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services said yesterday he won't answer to whether the agency was involved in a prior investigation of the home of a Clarksfield Township couple accused of putting at least nine of their 11 adopted special needs children in cages.

Erich Dumbeck, who has held his DJFS post since the middle of last year, also wouldn't confirm or deny whether the agency fielded complaints that at least one woman claims to have filed in 2001 and 2002 alleging mistreatment of the adopted children of Michael and Sharen Gravelle.

Meanwhile, the DJFS is expected to conduct a home study of Lisa Gravelle, the adult daughter of the Gravelles.

Sharen and Michael Gravelle requested the court remand custody of their adopted children to her, according to Huron County Juvenile Court Administrator Chris Mushett.

According to Mushett, Lisa Gravelle requested custody of the 11 children at the shelter care hearing on Sept. 12.

''The parents wanted her to be considered for (custody),'' he said. ''She was brought in at the request of her parents by their attorney.''
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15230807&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

 

[mysteriew]

The documents show Michael and Sharon Gravelle, who are both white, joined in on a 1999 lawsuit in Cincinnati.

However, the couple was dropped from the lawsuit in 2002, according to the court documents.

Two of the children are from Hamilton County.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/09/17/caged_folo.html

 

[HeartofTexas]

More pictures of the cages the children slept in, although they still aren't too clear (IMO). Further down the article there is a statement from the Gravelles saying the children were free to come and go; however, in the pix, it appears that several of the cages have ladders in front of them, so I'm not sure how easy it was "to come and go". And then there's the question of the alarms or "buzzers" on them, too, not to mention the furniture shoved up against them.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/4975043/detail.html

 

[Amraann]

That is just *advertiser censored***** appalling.

I have a disabled child so I am disgusted that these people are sooo ignorant.

 

[dolceaura]

The daughter who is only now coming forward about sexual abuse to herself and physical abuse to her brother, is too little too late in my opinion. Where was she when her parents were adopting these children?? She could of at least put in an anonymous phonecall about the conditions these children were living in and now she wants them to be placed with her?? I don't think so. If there were calls made by neighbors or concerned persons before about possible abuse at the home and they were not investigated, then their needs to be some major firings in the department!!!:furious:

 

[HeartofTexas]

Dolce, there are two different daughters in the news... one, Jenna, has made claims of sexual abuse. The other, Lisa, has asked that the children be placed with her (as per her parents request!). That way, of course, all of the money would stay with the family. But I still feel it's a bit late with the charges of sexual abuse because it seems this would have been better reported several years ago. OTOH, I read where this daughter is very frightened of her father, so it's possible she was so traumatized that she wasn't emotionally strong enough to report him. I also would be most interested in knowing the sex of the ones sleeping in actual beds... and would bet money they are girls. The more I hear about this family, the more it gags me.

 

[SewingDeb]

I hate to copy my own post. But here is a link to restraint beds like I was describing.

http://institute.blacksteel.com/Beds-Other.htm

The ones I referenced are the first ones shown.

Those are very nice. If anyone did actually recommend them, this is probably what they were referring to.

 

[OneLostGrl]

Those are very nice. If anyone did actually recommend them, this is probably what they were referring to.

Big difference though, between these and the pic's of the actual "cages" these children were kept in.

 

[OneLostGrl]

As a general rule, no it isn't necessary. But there are some children and adults who may have illnesses which make them violent, or they may have sexually abused before- children who are sexualized at a young age, and who grew up in households where that was a common occurance sometimes will then approach other children or even adults looking to continue that practice.

Although I understand what you are saying and agree with you in part, every article I have read regarding these children state that the Police and Social Services describe them as Autistic and/or Mentally Retarded.

I guess what bothers me the most is it's obvious (after the fact, sadly) that these "parents" were overwhelmed and under qualified to have so many children with special needs in their home.

Even IF keeping them in these cages kept them and the other children safe.. was it really fair to these kids to live in the same fear the parents did?
If the PARENTS were afraid of these kids, how do ya think the kids felt about each other?

I have a soft spot in my heart for children, especially special needs kids, and I really feel these kids would have been better off in a specialized group home with 24/7 "awake" staff, if they were indeed a danger to themselves or those they lived with.

 

[SewingDeb]

Big difference though, between these and the pic's of the actual "cages" these children were kept in.

Exactly.

 

[tennessee]

I am afraid you guys think that I am siding with these parents. I am not. I think that they were cruel to these children. In fact, since more and more details are leaking out, I hope that they spend forever in their own cage in prison.

Those beds that I referred to aren't that nice either. Some people are very frightened to be in them.

Anyway, sorry if I offended.


JMHO

 

[mysteriew]

I am afraid you guys think that I am siding with these parents. I am not. I think that they were cruel to these children. In fact, since more and more details are leaking out, I hope that they spend forever in their own cage in prison.

Those beds that I referred to aren't that nice either. Some people are very frightened to be in them.

Anyway, sorry if I offended.


JMHO

Tenn, you didn't offend. I too felt since the "cages" weren't locked, my main objections were that they weren't big enough, and the kids didn't have matteresses, blankets or pillows. But I could understand a need for the parents to know when the kids got out of bed at night.
However, like you I am upset over the other info that is coming out.

 

[OneLostGrl]

I am afraid you guys think that I am siding with these parents. I am not. I think that they were cruel to these children. In fact, since more and more details are leaking out, I hope that they spend forever in their own cage in prison.

Those beds that I referred to aren't that nice either. Some people are very frightened to be in them.

Anyway, sorry if I offended.


JMHO

Tennessee-

I don't think anyone was offended by your posting a link to the pic's.
I know I wasn't.
It seemed to me you were just trying to give the "parent's" the benefit of the doubt.

 

[SieSie]

Have any charges been filed against these so-called parents yet??

 

[mysteriew]

The modest, two-story home where authorities say a couple confined their adoptive children in small cages sits off a winding, hard-to-find country road in a sparsely populated, rural town where neighbors are separated by cornfields and privacy is not hard to find.

So it makes sense that few folks here knew much about Michael and Sharen Gravelle, the parents of 11 disabled children, three of whom are from Stark County.

But in the past week, authorities, neighbors and court documents have helped form a picture of a working class, middle-age white couple with a history of marital problems who traveled across Ohio and other states to find the neediest children.

The Gravelles adopted black youngsters with ailments such as autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV and pica, an eating disorder in which children compulsively eat nonfood items such as dirt and rocks.

The Associated Press has learned that three siblings were removed from their Canton home in 1999 and joined the Gravelle family in 2000.

Officials from Stark County Child Protective Services said their reviews of the Gravelles turned up no problems.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=242814&r=0&Category=11

 

[mysteriew]

The sheriff in Huron County said today that some of the eleven special-needs adoptive children kept in cages at night also were confined there as daytime punishment.

Sheriff Dick Sutherland said in a statement after a meeting with investigators that the cages, called "boxes" by the parents, were unlocked but were rigged with alarms. He says the children wouldn't try to get out for fear of an angry reaction by parents.

The sheriff says no charges have been filed. He says charges must await psychological and psychiatric test results on the children.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=3457437