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ceapach · 17-01-2008, 10:36 PM

September 13, 2005
Children found locked in cages in rural Ohio

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/js/m24-image-browser.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/js/tol.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"> /* Global variables that are used for "image browsing". Used on article pages to rotate the images of a story. */ var sImageBrowserImagePath = ''; var aArticleImages = new Array(); var aImageDescriptions = new Array(); var aImageEnlargeLink = new Array(); var aImageEnlargePopupWidth = '500'; var aImageEnlargePopupHeight = '500'; var aImagePhotographer = new Array(); var nSelectedArticleImage = 0; var i=0; </script>  By Sam Knight, Times Online, and agencies

Eleven children have been founded locked in alarmed cages in a house in rural Ohio, according to local Sheriff's deputies.
The children, aged from one to 14, were discovered locked in nine cages on Friday evening after a social worker caught a glimpse of the one of the cages on a visit to the house in Clarksfield Township, Ohio.
The cages, which are less than one metre high and one metre deep, were alarmed and some of them were blocked with heavy furniture. The children, who on Monday were handed over to foster homes, have various disabilities, including autism.
Sharen and Mike Gravelle, the couple responsible for the children, who are all either adopted or foster children, have denied abusing or neglecting them. According to the Huron County prosecutor, Russell Leffler, the couple claim that a psychiatrist recommended that they place the children in cages.
"The impression that we got was that they felt it was OK," said Lieutenant Randy Sommers, one of the police investigators.
Mr Sommers added that police believed the children were forced to sleep in the cages, which were stacked in two rows on the second story of the house. According to Mr Sommers, one of the children said he had slept in a cage for three years.
So far, no criminal charges have been filed against Mr and Mrs Gravelle. Officials from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services placed the children, who are not thought to be malnourished, in the care of four foster families yesterday.
Mr and Mrs Gravelle appeared at the hearing at Huron County Juvenile Court and a woman who identified herself as Mrs Gravelle's mother said the children were happy and loved.
"This year they have played and had fun and laughed like no other children have, which they have never been able to do," the woman said.
The case bears an unhappy resemblance to the abuse of a 17-year-old boy discovered in Ohio in March. Investigators found that a couple kept their adopted teenage son in a tiny bed, which they had placed in a locked cage.
Police found that the boy, who weighed 3 1/2 stone, had been prescribed the crib by a doctor when he was much younger.

17-01-2008, 10:36 PM	#8
ceapach has a nifty custom user title Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: North America I am currently:	September 13, 2005 Children found locked in cages in rural Ohio <!-- END: Module - Main Heading --><!--CMA user Call Diffrenet Variation Of Image --><!-- BEGIN: Module - M24 Article Headline with portrait image (c) --><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/js/m24-image-browser.js"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/js/tol.js"></script><!-- BEGIN: Module - M24 Article Headline with portrait image (c) --><script type="text/javascript"> /* Global variables that are used for "image browsing". Used on article pages to rotate the images of a story. */ var sImageBrowserImagePath = ''; var aArticleImages = new Array(); var aImageDescriptions = new Array(); var aImageEnlargeLink = new Array(); var aImageEnlargePopupWidth = '500'; var aImageEnlargePopupHeight = '500'; var aImagePhotographer = new Array(); var nSelectedArticleImage = 0; var i=0; </script> <!-- BEGIN: Module - M24 Article Headline with pair of portrait images (c) --><!-- Print Author name from By Line associated with the article --> By Sam Knight, Times Online, and agencies <!-- END: Module - Module - M24 Article Headline with pair of portrait images (c) --><!-- Article Copy module --><!-- BEGIN: Module - Main Article --><!-- Check the Article Type and display accordingly--><!-- Print Author image associated with the Author--><!-- Print the body of the article--><!-- Pagination --><!--Display article with page breaks -->Eleven children have been founded locked in alarmed cages in a house in rural Ohio, according to local Sheriff's deputies. The children, aged from one to 14, were discovered locked in nine cages on Friday evening after a social worker caught a glimpse of the one of the cages on a visit to the house in Clarksfield Township, Ohio. The cages, which are less than one metre high and one metre deep, were alarmed and some of them were blocked with heavy furniture. The children, who on Monday were handed over to foster homes, have various disabilities, including autism. Sharen and Mike Gravelle, the couple responsible for the children, who are all either adopted or foster children, have denied abusing or neglecting them. According to the Huron County prosecutor, Russell Leffler, the couple claim that a psychiatrist recommended that they place the children in cages. <!--#include file="m63-article-related-attachements.html"--><!-- Call Wide Article Attachment Module --><!--TEMPLATE:call file="wideArticleAttachment.jsp" /-->"The impression that we got was that they felt it was OK," said Lieutenant Randy Sommers, one of the police investigators. Mr Sommers added that police believed the children were forced to sleep in the cages, which were stacked in two rows on the second story of the house. According to Mr Sommers, one of the children said he had slept in a cage for three years. So far, no criminal charges have been filed against Mr and Mrs Gravelle. Officials from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services placed the children, who are not thought to be malnourished, in the care of four foster families yesterday. Mr and Mrs Gravelle appeared at the hearing at Huron County Juvenile Court and a woman who identified herself as Mrs Gravelle's mother said the children were happy and loved. "This year they have played and had fun and laughed like no other children have, which they have never been able to do," the woman said. The case bears an unhappy resemblance to the abuse of a 17-year-old boy discovered in Ohio in March. Investigators found that a couple kept their adopted teenage son in a tiny bed, which they had placed in a locked cage. Police found that the boy, who weighed 3 1/2 stone, had been prescribed the crib by a doctor when he was much younger.