Adult Kids Testify in Caged Children Case
Thursday, February 23, 2006 6:24 AM EST
The Associated Press
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN
NORWALK, Ohio (AP) — Two adult children of the couple accused of forcing some of their 11 special-needs children to sleep in cages testified against them in the couple's court fight to regain custody of the adopted youngsters.
Jenna and Jesse Gravelle testified Wednesday as witnesses for prosecutors trying to persuade a juvenile court judge to place their adopted siblings in the county's permanent care.
Earlier, their father and stepmother, Michael and Sharen Gravelle, pleaded not guilty in a separate hearing to child endangerment and other crimes. Their trial was set for Sept. 12.
Jenna Gravelle, 31, said her father and stepmother provided little food for her and her brothers and that the couple charged the teens money to live in their home.
"I was miserable," Gravelle said, describing bare kitchen cupboards, little privacy and "inappropriate touching" by her father that she said began at age 6 or 8.
"I felt like a prisoner," she said, her voice cracking occasionally.
Michael Gravelle, who has denied the abuse allegations and has not been charged, rubbed his forehead and kept his eyes down as she testified. His lawyer has said Jenna falsely accused him because she was angry as a child that he married Sharen after Jenna's mother died.
Jesse Gravelle testified that his father sat him and his brother down when they were youngsters after Jenna left home and "told us that he had inappropriately touched her."
"He didn't indicate how long or any details, just that he had inappropriately touched her," he said.
Michael and Sharen Gravelle deny abusing their adopted children, ages 1 to 15. They say the beds enclosed with wood and wire and equipped with alarms were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from various psychological and behavioral problems.
A social worker last fall discovered the cages at the Gravelles' home in rural Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland, and the adopted children have been in foster care ever since.
The Gravelles want the children back. Prosecutors say the youngsters should be placed in the permanent care of Huron County.
The couple were charged last week with child endangerment, falsifying adoption applications and lying under oath when being qualified for adoption funding. If convicted, they would face one to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 for each of the 16 counts of felony child endangering.
A private social worker hired by the Gravelles to work with the adopted children was charged with offenses including failing to report abuse and complicity to child endangering. She has denied wrongdoing.
Thursday, February 23, 2006 6:24 AM EST
The Associated Press
By THOMAS J. SHEERAN
NORWALK, Ohio (AP) — Two adult children of the couple accused of forcing some of their 11 special-needs children to sleep in cages testified against them in the couple's court fight to regain custody of the adopted youngsters.
Jenna and Jesse Gravelle testified Wednesday as witnesses for prosecutors trying to persuade a juvenile court judge to place their adopted siblings in the county's permanent care.
Earlier, their father and stepmother, Michael and Sharen Gravelle, pleaded not guilty in a separate hearing to child endangerment and other crimes. Their trial was set for Sept. 12.
Jenna Gravelle, 31, said her father and stepmother provided little food for her and her brothers and that the couple charged the teens money to live in their home.
"I was miserable," Gravelle said, describing bare kitchen cupboards, little privacy and "inappropriate touching" by her father that she said began at age 6 or 8.
"I felt like a prisoner," she said, her voice cracking occasionally.
Michael Gravelle, who has denied the abuse allegations and has not been charged, rubbed his forehead and kept his eyes down as she testified. His lawyer has said Jenna falsely accused him because she was angry as a child that he married Sharen after Jenna's mother died.
Jesse Gravelle testified that his father sat him and his brother down when they were youngsters after Jenna left home and "told us that he had inappropriately touched her."
"He didn't indicate how long or any details, just that he had inappropriately touched her," he said.
Michael and Sharen Gravelle deny abusing their adopted children, ages 1 to 15. They say the beds enclosed with wood and wire and equipped with alarms were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from various psychological and behavioral problems.
A social worker last fall discovered the cages at the Gravelles' home in rural Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland, and the adopted children have been in foster care ever since.
The Gravelles want the children back. Prosecutors say the youngsters should be placed in the permanent care of Huron County.
The couple were charged last week with child endangerment, falsifying adoption applications and lying under oath when being qualified for adoption funding. If convicted, they would face one to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $10,000 for each of the 16 counts of felony child endangering.
A private social worker hired by the Gravelles to work with the adopted children was charged with offenses including failing to report abuse and complicity to child endangering. She has denied wrongdoing.