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

[Sheromom]

Can you imagine if their house had caught fire?! What totally sick people. How many people keep their PIGS in the FRONT yard? I don't suppose either worked outside the home (or inside it,either!). It made me sick to read that the kids had decorated their own cages. I just cannot imagine!

 

[mysteriew]

Although the point about if the house caught fire is a good one, I might have been able to accept it if the kids slept in beds, with wire netting around them, NOT a good idea, but maybe necessary if the kids were that much of a danger to each other. But these weren't beds. They were little enclosures not even long enough for the kids to stretch out, and they didn't have mattresses- they had rubber mats. Also no pillows or blankets or sheets.

I keep hoping that they will get a quote from the psychiatrist/psychologist who supposedly recommended this. I really would like to hear what he/she has to say about this.
I keep thinking that there was a similar case in Ohio of a kid being caged or some other extreme behavior and the family saying that a psychiatrist/psychologist recommended it. But I can't remember enough details to look it up.

 

[tennessee]

There are actually beds that are made for this purpose. They have nets all around them that zip up at night. They are used by places that treat brain injured patients and probably other patients as well. They are no larger than a hospital bed, only taller. They are in essence cages. I imagine that they are rather expensive.

Not that I am excusing these parents but maybe this was the only economical and the quickest way they could ensure these kids safety? Personally, I think they took in way more than they could handle. I really admire folks who take in disabled kids but maybe there should be a limit.

If I can find a photo of one I will post it.

JMHO

 

[SewingDeb]

snip

I keep hoping that they will get a quote from the psychiatrist/psychologist who supposedly recommended this. I really would like to hear what he/she has to say about this.
I keep thinking that there was a similar case in Ohio of a kid being caged or some other extreme behavior and the family saying that a psychiatrist/psychologist recommended it. But I can't remember enough details to look it up.

Here are some details, but no name:
http://a.abcnews.com/GMA/wireStory?id=1120789&page=1
In March, a couple who had recently moved from Ohio to Florida was charged with neglect when their adopted teenager was discovered malnourished in a crib-like cage. The then-17-year-old weighed 49 pounds, investigators said.

The twin-bed-sized crib had been prescribed when the boy was much younger and lived in Ohio. It had been fitted with a lid, chains and a padlock, investigators said.

 

[dolceaura]

Thanx for the welcome Mysteriew! :blushing: I find it hard to believe that every single child was a danger to himself or others. I am a mother of an autistic child and although he has gotten up once or twice in the middle of the night to dump out the garbage onto the floor , we have never needed to cage him!!

 

[mysteriew]

Here are some details, but no name:
http://a.abcnews.com/GMA/wireStory?id=1120789&page=1
In March, a couple who had recently moved from Ohio to Florida was charged with neglect when their adopted teenager was discovered malnourished in a crib-like cage. The then-17-year-old weighed 49 pounds, investigators said.

The twin-bed-sized crib had been prescribed when the boy was much younger and lived in Ohio. It had been fitted with a lid, chains and a padlock, investigators said.

That is it! I wonder if there is any connections between those two cases- like maybe they had the same psychiatrist.

 

[Norma]

Here's the first story:

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/4267077/detail.html

Sheriff’s officials in Jacksonville, Fla., said Wilson Sullivan, 55, and his wife, Brenda Sullivan, 48, left their 17-year-old son wearing a diaper and locked inside an enclosed crib "similar to a cage." The "cage" had a chain and padlock.

Child welfare workers in Jacksonville were called to the Sullivans' home in January. Officials said they found the boy wearing a diaper and he also appeared developmentally delayed. He weighed 49 pounds and was as tall as a typical 9-year-old.

 

[concernedperson]

That is it! I wonder if there is any connections between those two cases- like maybe they had the same psychiatrist.

If they did someone needs to lose their license to practice. This is child abuse all the way around. No human being should ever be in a cage for their own protection. These people were not equipped to care for the truly needy and were in for the money that it entailed. For that alone they should be prosecuted. I hope no one turns their back on this case. Katrina notwithstanding.

 

[mysteriew]

If they did someone needs to lose their license to practice. This is child abuse all the way around. No human being should ever be in a cage for their own protection. These people were not equipped to care for the truly needy and were in for the money that it entailed. For that alone they should be prosecuted. I hope no one turns their back on this case. Katrina notwithstanding.

From reading the articles, I don't think it is a matter of sweepting it under the rug, I think it is a matter of finding the max number of charges to level against the family. And I have a feeling that inquiries are going to be made into the agencies who placed the kids there.

Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said Wednesday that his office was still investigating the case, which has focused national attention on a sleepy rural area. Though no decision has been made, Leffler said potential criminal charges against the couple could include abduction, unlawful restraint and child endangering.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...eadlines-nation

Also, I would like to mention- from reading the articles, the cages do not appear to have had locks. They had alarms, which was to alert the parents if one of the kids got out of bed. Although I am not sure about the two cages with a dresser against them.
One thing I do wonder about is the neighbors all describe these kids as polite and well mannered. Yet the parents give quite a different description.

 

[Linda7NJ]

My guess is that not all of those children were adopted through the system. I am familiar with an huge underground network of people that take in children from disrupted adoptions.

Often times people adopt children from foster care and find themselves ill equipped to care for these children or just as often the state failed to fully disclose the violence and specific disturbing behaviors of many of them. The state is less than helpful.

So, they go underground, on secret e-mail lists whose addresses are passed on through referral only. Members are screened and linked with other people in other states willing to take these kids for the child's adoption subsidy money. ( Often times that money is $1500. a month) Desperate adoptive parents with no other recourse are thankful to be rid of the child they never should have adopted in the first place and most believe the homes they are going to are good ones. Many of them are wonderful, many are not. Most of the homes taking in these kids have 10 to 12 kids.

 

[tennessee]

There are actually beds that are made for this purpose. They have nets all around them that zip up at night. They are used by places that treat brain injured patients and probably other patients as well. They are no larger than a hospital bed, only taller. They are in essence cages. I imagine that they are rather expensive.

Not that I am excusing these parents but maybe this was the only economical and the quickest way they could ensure these kids safety? Personally, I think they took in way more than they could handle. I really admire folks who take in disabled kids but maybe there should be a limit.

If I can find a photo of one I will post it.

JMHO

I hate to copy my own post. But here is a link to restraint beds like I was describing.

http://institute.blacksteel.com/Beds-Other.htm

The ones I referenced are the first ones shown.

 

[mysteriew]

My guess is that not all of those children were adopted through the system. I am familiar with an huge underground network of people that take in children from disrupted adoptions.

Often times people adopt children from foster care and find themselves ill equipped to care for these children or just as often the state failed to fully disclose the violence and specific disturbing behaviors of many of them. The state is less than helpful.

So, they go underground, on secret e-mail lists whose addresses are passed on through referral only. Members are screened and linked with other people in other states willing to take these kids for the child's adoption subsidy money. ( Often times that money is $1500. a month) Desperate adoptive parents with no other recourse are thankful to be rid of the child they never should have adopted in the first place and most believe the homes they are going to are good ones. Many of them are wonderful, many are not. Most of the homes taking in these kids have 10 to 12 kids.

That is interesting, and may be what the prosecutor was referring to when he talked about filing abduction charges against the parents. But at least some of the kids were adopted through county agencies according to local media. I know Cincy stations have said two were adopted through Hamilton Co. and I also heard some were from Cuyahogua (sp) county.

 

[Linda7NJ]

I know a woman who does this and she has 13 children. She has a huge home and takes in children with RAD. She receives close to 10 thousand dollars a month. That money is used to cover the expenses of having a huge home and caring for these kids. She shops for herself at Goodwill and the mall for her kids.

The children do really well there and thrive in a huge family where there is no pressure to bond with primary caretakers right away. Children that can share a room do and those that can not because of sexual aggressive behaviors have their own room, their doors are locked at night and alarmed. Over the years a few have had to be hospitalized for extended periods, two never to return. A few were adopted through the state but most came through the "network".

Over the years she has run into some trouble with neighbors, CPS and local authorities, she's always prevailed. Most of the children have made huge strides at becoming productive members of society.

 

[OneLostGrl]

3. Some of the kids may have had sexual and abuse issues and when the parents were unable to watch over them carefully (during sleeping hours), perhaps they thought that everyone would be most safe if they were kept in their own beds. It is extremely difficult to reason with the mentally retarded and mentally ill.

I have a mentally retarded Sister-In-Law who is not locked in cages at bed time... Also, I am mentally Ill and no-one locks me in a cage at night.

 

[mysteriew]

I have a mentally retarded Sister-In-Law who is not locked in cages at bed time... Also, I am mentally Ill and no-one locks me in a cage at night.

As a general rule, no it isn't necessary. But there are some children and adults who may have illnesses which make them violent, or they may have sexually abused before- children who are sexualized at a young age, and who grew up in households where that was a common occurance sometimes will then approach other children or even adults looking to continue that practice.

 

[LinasK]

I hate to copy my own post. But here is a link to restraint beds like I was describing.

http://institute.blacksteel.com/Beds-Other.htm

The ones I referenced are the first ones shown.

Tennessee, I've worked in Head Injury units. The cages they are describing are nothing like these! :banghead: If these children needed to be in a locked ward, like for example an advanced Alzheimers patient, then they should never have been placed in this family's home!:doh:

 

[tennessee]

Tennessee, I've worked in Head Injury units. The cages they are describing are nothing like these! :banghead: If these children needed to be in a locked ward, like for example an advanced Alzheimers patient, then they should never have been placed in this family's home!:doh:

:waitasec:

If you had read the rest of the post you would see that we are in agreement. I know too well the effects of brain injuries. I am by no means excusing these people. Geez.

JMHO

 

[HeartofTexas]

Here's a good article (2 pages long) that talks about the money aspect of the case (towards the bottom half of the 1st page):

http://www.norwalkreflector.com/fullstory.html?sku=2005091612032106773&s=frontpage

One neighbor has accused the parents of "playing the system," especially since the couple cared for 11 children while neither one worked. Police have said Michael was retired, but they did not know what his job had been.


Authorities have said they will investigate the financial aspect of the case, but whether the Gravelles were taking advantage of the system or not, money is available in many avenues for parents who adopt children.


Sandy Bercheck, service coordinator with Christie Lane School, said while she did not know any specifics about the Gravelles' case, if a family's income is low enough, adopted children can qualify to receive Social Security Income, which would be $500 per month per child with a disability.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Here's another good article from a woman who claims she turned the Gravelle's in to the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services in both 2001 and 2002. You have to click on this link and then click on the article entitled "Family friend Says She Reported Mistreatment"... if you follow the link on the "Family Friend" page, it won't open.
http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.asp?brd=1699


Here's a statement I think we'll be seeing more of as more and more people come forward in the future:

Once while at the Gravelle home, Oney claimed, she witnessed the children being hit with broken-off broomsticks.

''They weren't little taps,'' she said. ''(Sharen Gravelle) said, ÔYou don't understand. These measures are needed.'

''Nothing constituted that,'' said Oney of the ''spankings.''

And another:

Oney said she also reported what she felt was inappropriate treatment of another one of the children. Sharen Gravelle reportedly forced the teen to hang his dirty bed linens on the clothesline while she ridiculed him calling him a ''pig'' and ''bed-wetter and worse,'' before the child went to school in the mornings, said Oney.

 

[HeartofTexas]

If you go to this link, there is a picture of the cages in the upper lefthand corner, although it's a bit hard to tell a whole lot. It almost looks like some of them don't have wires on the front but instead have wooden doors... but again, I'm not certain.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=40807