Couple Indicted for Allegedly Caging Children, page 1

The Ohio couple that made headlines here on ATSNN and elsewhere last fall when it was found that some or all of their 11 adopted children had been sleeping in kennel-like cages has been indicted on child endangerment charges. Michael and Sharen Gravelle also face additional charges stemming from the case.

www.usatoday.com
An Ohio couple accused of forcing some of their 11 adopted children to sleep in cages were indicted Tuesday for child endangerment, authorities said.

Michael and Sharen Gravelle also are accused of falsifying adoption applications and lying under oath, said Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler.

The Gravelles have denied mistreating the children, ages 1 to 15. They have been fighting to regain custody since the children were placed in foster care last fall after a county social worker likened the wood and chicken-wire cages to kennels.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The only thing that surprises me about this story is how slowly the wheels of justice turn sometimes. Or at least that's the way it seems to me. I would think that when a social worker goes into a home and finds 11 children between the ages of 1 and 15 living in such conditions, the charges of abuse and endangerment would be automatic.

I'm curious to see what kind of defense the couple mounts to explain why it was necessary to kennel these children, and how they came to have so many children with so many various disabilities. I'm assuming that's what the additional charges of lying and falsification stem from.

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
NEWS: 11 Children Found Caged in Home
NEWS: Judge finds Evidence of Abuse in Caged Children Case