Couple accused of making children sleep in cages lose custody

An American couple accused of abusing their 11 adopted special-needs children by making them sleep in cages lost permanent custody today.

Huron County Juvenile Judge Timothy Cardwell awarded custody to the county in Ohio, which had placed the children in foster care last fall after a social worker discovered the enclosures.

The judge ruled earlier that Michael and Sharen Gravelle had abused the children, and he said evidence showed there was a good chance they would repeat the behaviour.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to several charges, including child endangerment, in a separate criminal case.

They deny abusing the children, aged one to 15, and say the beds were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from psychological and behavioural problems.

They can appeal against today’s ruling.

Sharen Gravelle testified at an earlier custody hearing that she and her husband built bunk beds and attached a wooden playhouse the family called a clubhouse for some of the children’s toys. The other children then requested and got them.

The couple eventually added wire enclosures and alarms to help corral what the mother described as uncontrollable wandering at night.

The couple felt the cage-like, brightly painted enclosures helped keep the children from getting dangerous kitchen utensils and into other trouble, the mother testified.

Prosecutors accuse the couple of locking the children in cages to discipline them.

The couple said during the custody hearing that they love the children and can provide a proper, permanent home, which they argued the children are unlikely to find in the custody of the county.

Cardwell ordered 10 of the children placed in the permanent custody of the county.

The eleventh child, a two-year-old girl, was placed in temporary custody with the county because the adoption agency that placed her with the Gravelles has asked that she be returned.