Witness Recounts Rumors of Caged Children
Categories: abused, caged
NORWALK, Ohio - Child-welfare workers had heard rumors that a couple kept some of their 11 adopted children in cages two years before the youngsters were removed from the home, a witness testified in a custody hearing Tuesday.
Officials tried to follow up on the rumors in 2003, but Michael and Sharen Gravelle would not cooperate and a full investigation was never conducted, said Jo Ellen Johnson, an investigator for the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services.
The children were finally taken from the Gravelles after Johnson visited the home and examined the chicken-wire cages.
"They were piled one on top of another. It looked like a kennel," Johnson said.
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 dirt.
Judge Timothy Cardwell will determine whether the children were abused or neglected. If the allegations are not proved, the Gravelles, who live near rural Wakeman, could regain custody.
The Gravelles' attorney, Kenneth Myers, repeatedly criticized Johnson's reports and questioned why the county suddenly had to remove the children from the home two years after hearing about the cages.
Johnson, the first witness, said: "These children were being abused, and I stand by that decision."
Categories: abused, caged
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