Couple accused of caging kids
2005-12-07 00:32
Norwalk - An Ohio investigator found living conditions similar to a kennel when she checked on a complaint that a couple kept some of their 11 adopted children in cages.
At a custody hearing on Tuesday, Jo Ellen Johnson, an investigator with the Huron county department of job and family services, said: "They were piled one on top of another. It looked like a kennel".
However, Michael and Sharen Gravelle say they built enclosures with alarms, where the children could sleep for their own protection.
They say the children have health and behavioural problems such as foetal alcohol syndrome and pica, a disorder in which children eat nonfood items such as rocks or dirt.
United States judge Timothy Cardwell of the juvenile division of Huron county common pleas court, will determine if the couple abused or neglected the children.
If he finds the allegations unproven, the Gravelles could regain custody of the children.
In the hearing, Kenneth Myers, the Gravelles' attorney, questioned Johnson on why she thought the childrens' living conditions were "cruel and unusual" - the standard for removing children from an adoptive home.
Johnson answered that cages with alarms and locks were not appropriate for children.
- AP