Couple Gets 2 years for Caging Children

[Bill 213]

 Couple gets 2 years in 'caged kids' case By THOMAS J. SHEERAN, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago
 


NORWALK, Ohio - A couple who forced some of their 11 adopted, special-needs children to sleep in cages were sentenced to two years in prison each for child endangering Thursday, after emotional statements in which the parents claimed they were only trying to keep the kids safe.

Sharen Gravelle told the court the children were never confined as punishment but rather to protect them, including a child who wanted to jump out a second-floor window.

"Would you prefer that we let them jump? Either way, we'd be here. The difference is they're still alive," she said in a 26-minute statement.

Gravelle blamed social services officials for not helping her and her husband, Michael, control the destructive behavior of some of the youngsters.

The children, who suffered from problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and a disorder that involves eating nonfood items, ranged in age from 1 to 14 when authorities removed them in September 2005 from the Gravelles' home in Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland. They were placed in foster care in fall 2005 and the couple lost custody last March.

Sharen Gravelle kept her head down taking notes while the judge read the sentences. Michael Gravelle sat back in his chair, holding his face in his left hand.

Each could have received up to five years in prison for each of the four felonies they were convicted of in December. They also were convicted of seven misdemeanors.

Michael Gravelle, his face red and his voice rising, told the judge he and his wife "felt we were being led by the Lord" when they decided to bring the first child into their home.

He said problems began when they took in a group of siblings with an array of behavior and emotional problems.

"What do you do with these kids?" Michael Gravelle asked. "I prayed constantly for the answer."

He said the enclosures resulted from the suggestions of a social workers, who recommended strict rules to improve the children's behavior.

"I'm begging you," Michael Gravelle told the judge. "I do not deserve jail."

The Gravelles have said they will appeal their convictions. The judge allowed them to remain free on bond pending the appeal.

The couple has said they needed to keep some of the children in enclosed beds with alarms to protect them from their own dangerous behavior and stop them from wandering at night.

Prosecutors said the Gravelles were cruel. Witnesses, including the sheriff and some of the children, said the cages were urine-stained and lacked pillows or mattresses, but a social worker and others who testified for the defense said they never witnessed abuse and that the children's behavior improved because of the bright blue and red cages.

One Gravelle child testified he was forced to live in a bathroom for 81 days, sleeping in a bathtub because of a bed-wetting problem. The Gravelles' attorneys said the boy exaggerated the length of his bathroom stay, and an expert for the defense testified that the technique helped the boy
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First you can't spank your children, now you can't cage them.  What kind of world are we living in?  Damn you hippies, damn you anyhow!

[Jessica]

Can i scream ?

[AxlsMainMan]

Perfectly shows the errors of the modern legal system, thats forsure.

[Bill 213]

I'm thinking that the reason these parents didn't know how to handle their children is because they weren't adopting the children to be handled.  They probably got a shitload of money for raising these kids because of their disabilities and such and they probably scored a shitload of tax breaks/incentives shit like that.  I'm thinking anyone that would plan on raising 11 children with special needs with another person full time and then goes so far as to keep them caged.....isn't doing it because "god told them to".  All a crock of shit for something more sinister. 

[GNRreunioneventually]

if you as a parent have to put your kids in a cage then...wow......just wow

they must be real lil' bastards huh? ?

[Cornell]

My younger son used to get up in the middle of the night and go outside.  Once someone driving by picked him up and brought him to our house (he was 2 1/2).  I told him that if he did it again, I was going to have to lock him in his bedroom.  I didn't know what to do.  Thankfully, he never did it again.  I was worried about putting locks up high on the doors for fear of a fire and the kids wouldn't be able to reach them.

I didn't think about putting him in a cage! 

[Bill 213]

My younger son used to get up in the middle of the night and go outside.? Once someone driving by picked him up and brought him to our house (he was 2 1/2).? I told him that if he did it again, I was going to have to lock him in his bedroom.? I didn't know what to do.? Thankfully, he never did it again.? I was worried about putting locks up high on the doors for fear of a fire and the kids wouldn't be able to reach them.

I didn't think about putting him in a cage!?

How's this for corniest pun ever.........."Sometimes you have to just think INSIDE the box."