Lost In Lima Ohio - A true crime blog

They lost the children they abused, had a trial and were sentenced to jail. Two years is NOT enough, it will not make what these poor children endured less traumatic, nor will it even come close to being actual "justice". First off, locking children in cages is not a way of keeping them safe- it's a means of abusing them. Second, if you actually believe that you have to go to that extreme to ensure your children are safe because you are unable to find any other means of keeping them safe- then you're not only an idiot, but you also do not deserve to be a parent. There is nothing, nothing at all that can justify what these monsters did, and no amount of time could come close to being punishment enough. Helena Independent Record, full story .

It seems that dispite their insistance that the cages where used as a source of "protection" for the children, a jury of their peers where able to see through the lies and convict the Gravelle's for the abuse their 11 adoptive children suffered at their hands. From Fox : A jury found Michael Gravelle, 57, and his wife, Sharen, 58, guilty of felony and misdemeanor charges of child endangering and abuse. The couple had pleaded not guilty. They claimed during the three-week trial they needed to keep some of the youngsters in enclosed beds rigged with alarms to protect them from themselves and each other and stop them from wandering at night. Each was convicted of four felony counts of child endangering, two misdemeanor counts of child endangering and five misdemeanor counts of child abuse. Each was acquitted of 13 charges. All I can say is, it's about damn time. Categories: abused ,

I read a lot of bull when it comes to low life trash attempting to defend their actions in a court of law. I've been reading it, and hearing about it for so long, I usually can just skim over their self serving excuses and make my way to the real story. Some morning though, I just can't get past that first paragraph. It just leaves me STEAMING. 11 special needs children suffered inexcusable cruelty and abuse at the hands of two of Ohio's worst "parents"- Sharen and Michael Gravelle. Now, we've known all along that they planned to attempt the "it was for their own good" defense when they went to trial. And, sadly rather than just admit that they are worthless scum, they have proceeded with that defense . A couple on trial for putting some of their 11 adopted children in cages are guilty only of loving them, a defense attorney said Tuesday in his opening statement. "Eleven is a strain, a huge strain, but they did it for the right reason," sai...

In a case that has had national media attention, an end to the case seems closer at hand. Michael and Sharen Gravelle adopted eleven special needs children, and then subjected the children to sub standard living conditions. The children were removed after the children were found to be sleeping in "cages"- wooded structures framed in with doors to kept the children from getting out of bed. The Gravelles has testified that the cages were used to protect the children, and that they in no way harmed the kids- however few bought the story. Yestday, the judge in the custody case made a ruling: A Huron County judge said today that evidence showed there was a good chance the couple would do it again, and he ordered that the county immediately begin seeking new adoptions. The Gravelles have denied mistreating the children, and their attorney says they love them and want them back. But Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler says today's ruling is in the best interest of the kids. The...

The woman accused of forcing her 11 adoptive children to live in filth and sleep in "cages" took the stand at a hearing for custody yesterday. Gravelle stated that some of the kids requested to be forced to sleep within the confines of the wooden cages which surrounded their beds. Uh-hun. Of course they did. Sharen Gravelle testified Wednesday that she and her husband Michael built bunk beds and attached a wooden playhouse the family called a club house for some of the children's toys. The other children then requested them and the couple felt the brightly painted beds enclosed with wood and wire helped keep them from getting into trouble at night, she said. Beneath what everyone thinks and says regarding this case is one question that had remained on my mind. According to the Gravelles, the cages were there to protect their children. To prevent them from harming themselves, and were not a form of abuse. And yet, they have recently stepped forward and indicated that they ...

After months of pondering the fate of the two parents child abusers who adopted 11 disabled children only to have them contained to wired caged beds and a home covered in filth, the pondering is half over. An Ohio couple accused of forcing some of their 11 adoptive, special needs children to sleep in cages was charged Tuesday with child endangerment and other crimes. A grand jury indicted Michael and Sharen Gravelle on 16 counts of felony child endangering, eight misdemeanor counts of falsifying adoption applications and a felony count of lying under oath when being qualified for adoption funding, Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler said late Tuesday. The Gravelles, who live near Wakeman in a rural area 50 miles southwest of Cleveland, have denied mistreating the children, ages 1 to 15. They have been fighting to regain custody since the children were removed and placed in foster care last fall, after a county social worker examined the wood and chicken-wire cages she likened t...

NORWALK, Ohio - 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. Living inside a box, is not abuse according to the Gravelles, I hope they can keep that thought in mind when they are getting comfortable inside their jail cells. The only thing that makes this story even worse, is knowing that this could have been stopped years ago if someone had done their job and looked into this situation. The young boy continues to share his experience living in this abusive homes: In earlier testimony, the boy said most of his brothers and sisters slept on wood with blankets but no pillows or mattresses in the cages.One girl's head was shoved in a toilet by a par...

Witness Recounts Rumors of Caged Children 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. Ju...

The parents accused of locking their kids in cages in southern Ohio have had their motion for the return of their children denied. NORWALK (AP) — A judge on Tuesday blocked the immediate return of 11 children to their adoptive parents, who have been accused of placing some of the children in enclosures that authorities say resemble cages. Michael and Sharen Gravelle filed a motion Nov. 4 with Judge Timothy Cardwell in the juvenile division of Huron County Common Pleas Court to get the children back. They say the handmade enclosures were for the children’s own safety. The children were removed from their custody in September and are in foster care. The motion included a sworn statement from an independent social worker who had worked with the Gravelles over the last five years. She said she knew about what she understood to be enclosures and approved of them. The judge also denied the couple’s request for expanded visitation rights with the children. A custody hearing is set...

Everytime I have to hear/read about how these parents believed that they where right for caging their adopted children, I shrudder. In honesty, it plays out the same for most abusive parents "see what YOU made ME do??" Few parents ever realize that when they cross that line- it is because they choice to. Wait, few abuse parents. For them, it is easier to blame the kids- after all THEIR behavior caused the abuse. If the kid could have just "stopped crying" or stopped this or that- the parent would not have had to lock them in a closet, beat them with a 2x4 etc. Even worse is when the "father" who locked these kids in cages defends the money they recieved - over $4000 a month- by telling us that "you couldn't pay enough to do the things they did". Because in reality- you couldn't pay any decent parent enough to lock their kids up, make them live in a filthy home with a lingering smell of urine and feces. It offends me that Sharen and Michae...

"...There was not cruelty, excessive restraint or risk of harm.." Yep, that's the line in the story that first caught my eyes- half way down the column it jumped out at me before I could even read the first sentence. I would like to point out that further in the column it will talk about Ohio state law. It will say that law doesn't require checking up on families after an adoption is final. That's true. But they didn't adopt all the kids at one time- and state law does require background checks (which are only good for one year), in home interviews with the family and inspection of the home, and references from friends or family. How many kids where adopted after the use of the cages started? Who interviewed the family on those that did go through after the cages? How many cages where in place during the interviews? And why didn't someone pick up on this? I love how the state washes their hands by saying no checks are needed after the adoption. What happen...

I have been told that I see things very black and white. My parents should be proud because growing up I tried to make everything a grey issue. I've learned to a bot more constant on my views, a bit less "sittin on the fence" of issues and more "standing firmly on one side of the fence without any willingness to budge". So let me say this clearly- if you stand by and allow someone to mistreat a child... you are as guilty of it as the one ding th mistreatment. Perhaps even more so because you have a strong responsiblity to protect that child at all costs. Having said that here's the update to the two low life, should never have a child within walking distance of them let alone have children in there care scum bags who kept 9 children caged. I am disappointed in the "no charges have been filed" I am disappointed in a system that would allow the children to be living this way while the very people who should be caring for them abuse them while getting...