Tue, 13 Sep 2005 03:30:55
Another in a series of posts in which I hate people
Sheriff’s deputies found 11 children locked in cages less than 3 1/2 feet high inside a home, but a couple denied they had abused or neglected the children.
A judge on Monday put the children - who range in age from 1 to 14 and who have various disabilities, including autism - in foster homes.
The children were found in nine cages built into the walls of the house near this small city in northern Ohio, according to the Huron County Sheriff’s Office. They had no blankets or pillows, and the cages were rigged with alarms that sounded if opened, Lt. Randy Sommers said.
The children told authorities they slept in the cages - 40 inches high and 40 inches deep - at night. Doors to some of the cages were blocked with heavy furniture.
WHAT
Sharen and Mike Gravelle are adoptive or foster parents for all 11 children, officials said. Prosecutors were reviewing the case, but no charges had been filed as of Monday night.
A children’s services investigator saw one of the children in a cage Friday, Sommers said. The sheriff’s office obtained a warrant and returned to the house that evening and removed the children.
THE FUCK
The Gravelles do not have a listed telephone number.
A woman who identified herself as Sharen Gravelle’s mother but would not give her name said the children were happy in their new home.
“This year they have played and had fun and laughed like no other children have, which they have never been able to do,” she said.
At a hearing, the judge placed the children in the custody of the Department of Job and Family Services, and officials placed them in four foster homes, said county Juvenile Court Administrator Chris Mushett.
Appearing with a lawyer at the hearing, the Gravelles denied they had abused or neglected the children.
County Prosecutor Russell Leffler said the Gravelles claimed a psychiatrist recommended they place the children in cages.
The couple were reserved when deputies arrived at the house to remove the children, Sommers said.
“The impression that we got was that they felt it was OK,” he said.
IS WRONG
Investigators believe nine of the children slept in the cages that were stacked two-high on the house’s second story. Two mattresses on a bedroom floor also showed signs of recent use, Sommers said.
One of the boys said he’d slept in the cage for three years, Sommers said.
WITH YOU PEOPLE?
I was in foster care twice as a kid in Syracuse, NY. I had probably 9 foster familes over my runs...exactly one of them wasn’t abusive.
Posted by JimK at 03:30 AM on September 13, 2005
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Categories: Crime and Criminals
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#2 Posted by Repubidan 
on 09/13 at 05:23 AM -
Does anybody seriously want to argue AGAINST capital punishment here?
#3 Posted by Toastrider on 09/13 at 12:40 PM -
Yes, but only in the context that most of our capital punishments are too swift.
Kids. In. Cages. Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick.
--TR
#4 Posted by jo-jo on 09/13 at 01:10 PM -
Appearing with a lawyer at the hearing, the Gravelles denied they had abused or neglected the children.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#5 Posted by Janna on 09/13 at 03:42 PM -
As a mother...I get frustrated at times and want to just rail against the boys...but DAMMIT...I have never crossed that line and I hope to God I never do. This...this just makes me ill. I could never and would never think of putting my children in a CAGE..A DAMN CAGE!!??!! I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. And to then claim that is not abuse? Are you kidding me? I’ve never even kept a DOG in a cage much less a child. What is wrong with these people?
#6 Posted by Ryley R. Hayes on 09/13 at 09:09 PM -
Autistic kids can be extremely difficult. There was a school for autistic kids, in Boston I think, that had an abuse case.
The thing is, kids had been coming home for years with the same kind of minor injuries - cuts, bruises, friction burns - from the activities done with the kids, and especially the fact that some autistic kids can become very violent, and need to be restrained. As very unconventional as the methods seemed, the school had a top notch reputation for helping kids with autism.
In that light, I figure these people deserve their day in court, under the same presumption of innocence everyone gets. My gut feeling says they went over the line. However, I’m no expert on autism, and dealing with autistic kids, but I suppose this could be considered somthing that is acceptable due to the very different circumstances.
#7 Posted by padders 
on 09/14 at 12:43 PM -
In that light, I figure these people deserve their day in court, under the same presumption of innocence everyone gets. My gut feeling says they went over the line. However, I’m no expert on autism, and dealing with autistic kids, but I suppose this could be considered somthing that is acceptable due to the very different circumstances.
My x has spent quite a few years working with Autistic people, and you are right they are often hard to look after, however treating them in any such way will make them a lot lot worse to look after. In fact, a lot of the behavioural problems autistic kids you might hear about have is because of abuse by social services or in foster care etc. Autistic kids, depending on the severity of the disease, can live normal lives if people are just prepared to understand the differences they face.
Unfortunatly this is a very expensive process and even the best of parents can find it too much. The parents that care enough can often find the services they need, but they will often need to move state to find a school or institution that is prepared to properly help. My x worked in Hawaii which has a lot of services avaliable to people with autism and met quite a few mothers who had left behind friends and family just so they could get these services. California, meanwhile, is closing a lot of institutions that really can help and sending kids back into foster care, even when the reason they where in these institutions was because they failed in foster care.
#8 Posted by The Neo Con Bloger on 09/14 at 11:36 PM -
Public Execution. No Trial. No Due Process. Gallows. Guillotines. Firing Squads. Televise It. Print It. This is what happens when you abuse children. Any Questions? Bastards!
#9 Posted by Helo on 09/15 at 09:20 PM -
Hey Jim, you have a link to this story? I want to show it to some people at the office.
#10 Posted by JimK on 09/15 at 10:24 PM -
Nick, I can’t find the exact story link I quoted, but here’s a couple:
#11 Posted by bluecove on 09/18 at 01:36 PM -
There are two sides to every story. These people adopted special needs children, including autistic, and those with pica (eat weird stuff—which is why some of them didn’t have pillows or blankets, they kept nibbling on them). They put the kids in those “cages” (wooden boxes constructed around bunk beds) at night so that the parents could get some sleep without wondering what the kids were up to! During the day the kids were out and about. Neighbors saw them and said the family seemed happy. The kids were well cared for. What exactly do you see that’s worth screaming about?
#12 Posted by Rann Aridorn on 09/18 at 04:35 PM -
What exactly do you see that’s worth screaming about?
You’re insane, and I’m surprised JimK hasn’t ripped you a new one yet. I just woke up or I’d do it myself, but then, why deprive him of the pleasure?
#13 Posted by Strider on 09/19 at 05:44 PM -
bluecove, you fucking moron, read the whole story. 40’’ by 40’’ cages. and how is that ok? do you think that that’s not going to affect a child for the rest of his/her life? i can’t believe people today…
#14 Posted by dalmatians on 09/23 at 07:25 AM -
Decent human beings do not put children in 40x40” cages. Period. End.
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Whoa that is some fucked up shit.