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

[Amraann]

Txvicki,


That sounds similair to my son Richie who is autistic.
When he was in the toddler years he had the uncanny ability to escape or get into anything. He also had no fear. He did not understand that some things were dangerous.
There is no grand solution or answer to this situation and parents cannot be awake 24 hours a day nor can most afford to hire help to be awake when they sleep and since often children like this sleep very little sleeping on there schedule (especially if you have other children ) is not always possible.

SO we got creative. We bolted all the furniture to the floor. (then he could not use it to climb) We sawed the bedroom door in half just above the door knob and padded the top so that on the chance he did scale it he would not get splinters.
He could not climb the smooth surface of the door like he could a babygate.
and his room was safe so that if he was up and wandering he could not harm himself and could only wander in his room.

All that being said .... These people are disgusting and should be in jail.
I too saw the pictures of the cages and that coupled with their own natural children stating they were treated badly makes me think this is beyond containing these children for their own safety.
I also think it very contradictory and must be a lie that they did not lock or otherwise block the cages.. Why? because if they were that concerned that these children would harm themselves or others then why not have the front door locked? And if they really did leave it unlocked (being as concerned and safety minded as they claim) it would only be because they KNEW 100% that these kids could not get to those outside doors and somehow wander off.

These people are liars and need to be in jail.

 

[Gozgals]

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/5479551/detail.html


Officials Heard Rumors Of Caged Kids Years Before Removal



POSTED: 6:54 pm EST December 6, 2005
UPDATED: 7:09 pm EST December 6, 2005


NORWALK, Ohio -- Officials heard rumors that a couple kept some of their 11 adopted special-needs children in cages two years before they were removed from the home, according to testimony in a custody hearing Tuesday.

​

Michael and Sharen Gravelle would not cooperate when officials tried to follow up on the rumors in 2003, and a full investigation was never conducted, said Jo Ellen Johnson, an investigator with the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services.

Following up on a complaint, Johnson decided the children should be taken from the Gravelles when she visited the home in September and found the cages had scratch marks and that the children repeatedly tried to pry the chicken wire away in order to escape. Michael Gravelle reinforced the cages.

SLIDESHOW: Images From Scene

"They were piled one on top of another. It looked like a kennel," Johnson said.

Judge Timothy Cardwell, of the juvenile division of Huron County Common Pleas Court, will determine based on the hearing whether the children were abused or neglected. If the allegations are not proven, the Gravelles, who live near rural Wakeman in northern Ohio, could regain custody.

The Gravelles say they built enclosures with alarms where the children could sleep for their own protection. The children, ages 1 to 14, have health and behavioral problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and pica, a disorder in which children eat nonfood items such as rocks or dirt.

The Gravelles' attorney, Kenneth Myers, repeatedly criticized Johnson's reports on the situation and accused her of portraying the Gravelles in a negative light. He questioned why, two years after hearing about the cages, the county suddenly had to remove the children from the home.

Johnson, who testified for three hours as the first witness, said she determined the children were in an abusive situation and in danger of harm.

Johnson believes the Gravelles loved their children but also intentionally harmed them by locking eight of them in cages, she said. The Gravelles threatened to put one of the children in a cage as punishment, even though she did not normally sleep in a cage, Johnson said.

She saw only one thin mattress and a worn out blanket in one cage.

"I didn't see any mattresses and there were 11 children," she said.

The Gravelles sat quietly listening to Johnson's testimony and did not show any emotion.

Johnson said when she researched the appropriateness of caging, she saw pictures of slaves that looked similar.

"Is that what you think this is?" Myers asked Johnson. The adopted children are black and the Gravelles are white.

"This is not a racial or ethnic issue. These children were being abused, and I stand by that decision," Johnson said.

Previous Stories:

• October 13, 2005: Attorney: Caged Children Beg To Return Home
• September 19, 2005: More Revealed About Adoptive Parents Of Caged Children
• September 13, 2005: Eleven Children Found Caged In Northern Ohio Home

Gozgals

 

[jannuncutt]

WTF!!!! I am so pi$$ed!! What the hell kind of world are we living in that people are actually debating on whether or not keeping children in cages is okay? :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

 

[mysteriew]

A sheriff's investigator gives testimony of the accounts given by Michael and Sharon Gravelle's adopted children about how they were punished.

The custody fight over the special-needs children who were kept in cages continued Wednesday in Huron County.

Testimony by a sheriff's investigator revealed that some of the punishments the children were forced to undergo included being spanked with a wooden board, being forced to live in the bathroom for months at a time, being held under water, and copying out books of the Bible by hand.

Lt. Randy Sommers said the information was learned through interviews conducted with the children after their removal from the Gravelle home.

Fearing harsh punishment,, Sommers said the children often chose to soil themselves rather than risk triggering alarms on their unlocked enclosures.

However, during cross-examination Sommers said that there was no evidence of the infliction of these punishments at the time of the children's removal.

He also didn't consult the children's therapist, even though she approved of the enclosures and other controversial treatments that may be percieved as abuse.

Sommers also said that there was some inconsistency in the search warrant used to go into the home.

A written statement by the children's therapist also said that children with their kind of special needs can be prone to lies and exaggerations.

No criminal charges have been filed against the couple.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/wews/20051207/lo_wews/3108432

 

[mysteriew]

THE ALLEGATIONS: The children told a sheriff's investigator that they were spanked with a board if they left the enclosures, and fear of punishment for leaving sometimes forced them to urinate and defecate inside. The Gravelles deny the allegations.

WHAT'S NEXT: A judge will determine whether the children were abused or neglected. If the allegations are not proven, the Gravelles could regain custody. The hearing was to continue Thursday and could last through Saturday. The judge has not indicated when he may rule.
http://www.onnnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=4216033&nav=Lrzs

A couple accused of keeping 11 adopted special needs children in cages spanked them with a board if they got out and forced at least one to live in a bathroom for urinating in his enclosure, an investigator testified Wednesday.

One boy said he had to live in the bathroom for about three months, sleeping in the bathtub, as punishment for going to the bathroom in his cage, Huron County sheriff's Lt. Randy Sommers said during a custody hearing.

Sommers said two children told him about punishments of being shoved or being held under water. In another incident he said a child told of "having his face shoved against a bathroom wall until his nose bled."

The testimony came in an effort by the parents, Michael and Sharen Gravelle, to regain custody of the children, ages 1 to 14. The youngsters have health and behavioral problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and pica, a disorder in which children eat dirt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051207/ap_on_re_us/caged_children_3

 

[Stuckinahs]

Good gosh, how much information does the judge need to make the decision to remove these children and charge the parents?

 

[captain exposition]

I've been staying pretty neutral on this matter because it didn't seem as though all the details had been released. The more I hear, however, the more it seems like these children were being abused. I mean, are all 11 children lying? Even if no charges are pressed, I hope these kids NEVER have to go back to that house or live in circumstances like that again.

 

[LinasK]

Information Learned Through Interviews Conducted With Kids



UPDATED: 4:40 pm PST December 7, 2005


HURON COUNTY, Ohio -- A sheriff's investigator testifies in Ohio that special-needs children kept in cages were punished by being held underwater.The custody fight over Michael and Sharon Gravelle's adopted special-needs children continued Wednesday in Huron County. Witnesses gave revealing testimony about the discipline the children allegedly underwent at the hands of the Gravelles, Cleveland TV station WEWS reported.

The Gravelles' 11 adopted children were taken from their home after allegations surfaced that they allegedly made some of the children sleep in wooden enclosures.

Testimony by a sheriff's investigator revealed that some of the punishments the children were forced to undergo included being spanked with a wooden board, being forced to live in the bathroom for months at a time, being held underwater, and copying books of the Bible by hand. Lt. Randy Sommers said the information was learned through interviews conducted with the children after their removal from the Gravelle home. more at link:http://www.ktvu.com/news/5487952/detail.html

 

[LinasK]

GRRRR!!! Those absolute sickos!!!The bedroom cages were bad enough, but there's no way they can justify these underwater cages!!! The link below shows a photo of the underwater cage! This story makes me so mad!!!!!:behindbar :behindbar :banghead: :furious:

 

[concernedperson]

Now one of the boys testified that he had to live in the bathroom because he wet his cage. This treatment is horrible.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,178143,00.html

 

[mysteriew]

A boy whose parents are accused of making their special-needs adopted children sleep in cages testified Thursday that the couple forced him to live in the bathroom as punishment for urinating in his enclosed bed.

On another occasion, Sharen and Michael Gravelle forced him to stay in his "box" for up to two weeks, the school-age boy said at the Juvenile Court custody hearing.

"I couldn't come out of my room until I wrote the whole book of Deuteronomy," he said. "I was up there for like a month."

The boy said he has grown tired of his box.

"Do you want to go back to live with the Gravelles?" prosecutor Jennifer DeLand asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

Under cross-examination from the Gravelles' attorney, Kenneth Myers, the boy testified that he didn't know whether he loved his parents but "I like them. They're good parents."
http://www.courttv.com/news/2005/1208/cages_ap.html

 

[concernedperson]

Why would a child say this? Because he doesn't know another way of living. That is the answer. I am pissed.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- A boy whose parents are accused of making their special-needs adopted children sleep in cages testified Thursday that the couple forced him to live in the bathroom as punishment for bed wetting.

* * *


"It doesn't matter," he said. "There's no sense getting comfortable at any place."

* * *

One girl's head was shoved in a toilet by a parent because she was drinking water out of it, and another had her head pushed into a toilet because she urinated in bed, the boy said.

The boy testified that he had to sleep in the bathroom for nearly three months because he wet his bed at night.

"Another time, I spent a good portion of my life in there," he said. "If I was really good, I'd get to come out for an hour."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/09/caged.childen.ap/index.html

 

[mysteriew]

The child testified that he went to the bathroom in his bed because he ''did not want to open the door'' of his enclosure, which had alarms. Opening the door meant waking everyone in the house and ''I respect people sleeping so I didn't want to open the door,'' said the child.

The boy testified there was no way to notify his parents that he or his siblings had to use the bathroom or get a drink or snack. Meanwhile, the children's sleeping quarters were consistently without mattresses or pillows, except for one, the child said. When asked what he slept on, the boy replied, ''wood.''

Eating in the house was an issue because the kitchen was locked and the children were accused of stealing if they got into the food, the child testified.

He said he was ordered to spend two weeks in his enclosure after taking a jar of peanut butter, bread and other food into his enclosure with him.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15723845&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6

 

[SadieMae]

NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- A boy whose parents are accused of making their special-needs adopted children sleep in cages testified Thursday that the couple forced him to live in the bathroom as punishment for bed wetting.

* * *


"It doesn't matter," he said. "There's no sense getting comfortable at any place."

* * *

One girl's head was shoved in a toilet by a parent because she was drinking water out of it, and another had her head pushed into a toilet because she urinated in bed, the boy said.

The boy testified that he had to sleep in the bathroom for nearly three months because he wet his bed at night.

"Another time, I spent a good portion of my life in there," he said. "If I was really good, I'd get to come out for an hour."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/09/caged.childen.ap/index.html

That part just broke my heart. A child who doesn't feel he BELONGS anywhere. I've read these are special needs kids, but they seem bright enough to me. My boys had occasional bedwetting problems until they were 6, but put their heads in the toilet??? I never even thought to do that. I was patient enough for them to outgrow it. I just don't know how these people managed to get 11 kids.

 

[mysteriew]

A couple who adopted 11 children with a host of health and behavioral problems abused some of the youngsters by making them sleep in wooden cages without pillows or mattresses, a judge ruled Thursday.

The children will remain in foster care until Juvenile Judge Timothy Cardwell holds a hearing to determine what to do with the children.

Their adoptive parents, Michael and Sharen Gravelle, have not been charged with a crime and denied abusing the youngsters. They said they built the cages in 2003 to protect the children from each other and themselves.

http://www.cleveland.com/newsflash/...al-57/1135264449142450.xml&storylist=national

 

[Linda7NJ]

From the article::laugh:"One expert hired by the county testified that 11 special-needs children were too many to have in one home."


DUH!

 

[PrayersForMaura]

Couple In Caged Kids Case Allowed Holiday VisitNORWALK, Ohio -- Adoptive parents accused of making their special-needs children sleep in cages will be allowed a holiday visit with them this week, a judge ruled.

Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Cardwell ruled Tuesday that Michael and Sharen Gravelle could have a two-hour visit with the 11 children by the end of the year. The Gravelles' lawyer had requested a visit so that the couple could give the youngsters gifts.

The visit is to take place at a Huron County-supervised location. The date was not specified.

More: http://www.click2houston.com/news/5693688/detail.html

 

[Jeana (DP)]

From the article::laugh:"One expert hired by the county testified that 11 special-needs children were too many to have in one home."


DUH!

They just don't pay those folks enough, do they? :doh:

 

[SewingDeb]

http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4317332&nav=LotJ

WAKEMAN, Ohio An Ohio couple accused of abusing their eleven adopted special-needs children say they'll do whatever it takes to get them back.

A judge ruled last month that making the children sleep in cages without pillows or mattresses did constitute abuse, and decided to keep the children in foster care.

But now the father tells The Cleveland Plain Dealer that they will be more lenient, send the children to public schools and do "whatever is necessary" to regain custody.

and

The couple hasn't been charged with a crime, and could regain custody, with some restrictions, after a hearing later this month.