Jury Convicts Ohio Couple Of Endangering And Abusing Children In
"Caged Beds" Case
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
December
22, 2006
NORWALK, OHIO--A jury has convicted Michael and Sharen Gravelle
of felony and misdemeanor charges of endangering and abusing some of their 11
adopted children, many of which have disabilities.
After three weeks of testimony and three days of deliberation, the jury
found the husband and wife each guilty of four felony counts of child
endangering, two misdemeanor counts of child endangering, and five misdemeanor
counts of child abuse. The jury also acquitted each of 13 charges.
The couple faces from one to five years in prison and up to $10,000 for
each felony conviction when they are sentenced in February. The misdemeanors
carry no jail time.
The Gravelles were accused of keeping some of the children in wire
enclosures armed with loud alarms. During the trial, the jury heard testimony
that the couple dealt harsh punishments to the children, including beating
them, forcing some of them to sleep in the caged beds without blankets or
pillows, and hosing them off in the cold outdoors. They also heard how the
couple forced one boy to spend 81 days in a bathtub as punishment for wetting
the bed, and how they dunked the head of a girl with Down syndrome into a
toilet.
Huron County Sheriffs deputies and Department of Job and Family Services
social workers removed the children, then ages 1 through 14, from the Gravelle
home on September 9, 2005 after finding the wood and wire cage beds in upstairs
bedrooms, along with a strong smell of urine and no functioning smoke
detectors.
The couple's defenders said they needed the wire enclosures to keep the
children from hurting themselves or each other. During the trial, they
presented experts who said the children's behavior improved because of the
strict discipline.
Margaret Kern, the legal guardian for all of the Gravelle children, told
the Toledo Blade that the children had one request of the media.
"They hate being labeled 'special needs.' They are normal, healthy kids
who are doing well in school, at their new foster homes, and in their
community."
"They all have friends and activities, and great enthusiasm, and zest
for life," she added.
Related:
"Parents convicted of caging some children" (Toledo
Blade)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/1222b.htm
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