Curiosity
Eleven foster kids forced to live in cages, reach 2.3million settlement: Reports
Eleven foster kids forced cages reach 2.3million settlement. FILE-This Wednesday, July 11, 2007 file photo shows Michael and Sharen Gravelle walking through downtown Norwalk, Ohio. Attorneys for 11 adopted and foster children forced to sleep in cages by their adoptive parents in northern Ohio have reached a $2 million settlement. Their adoptive parents, the Gravelles, spent two years in prison for abusing some of the children. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
The eleven Ohio foster children, adopted by Michael and Sharen Gravelle, reached a $2.3M settlement this week after being forced to sleep in cages.
The blended family of eleven foster and adopted children, who ranged in age from one to fourteen years old, were removed from the home in 2005 by authorities. The Gravelles, who were raising the family near Norwalk, claimed that they locked the children in cages at night to help control their behavior. The couple stated that the children were often unruly and destructive.
Michael and Sharen Gravelle were charged with various counts of child abuse and sentenced to two years in prison. All eleven children were removed from the home and placed into foster care.
The settlement is not the first that the children have received. Numerous governmental agencies involved in placing the children in the Gravelle home have been sued. The oldest of the children has used their portion of the settlements to pay for tuition.
Child welfare agencies failed to properly investigate the couple before placing the children in their home. A spokesperson with the Stark County prosecutor’s office stated, “We received assurance from the previous county where the Gravelles had lived.”
A judge must sign the $2.3M settlement agreement.
Kept in cages…A cross in front of the building where the eleven children were forced to sleep in wire cages. Picture: AP Source: AP
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SOURCE:
Eleven foster kids forced cages reach 2.3million settlement
http://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/eleven-foster-kids-forced-to-sleep-in-cages-reach-23-million-settlement/story-fnh81jut-1226845388150
Eleven children forced by adoptive parents to sleep in cages reach $2.24 million settlement in Ohio
http://www.smh.com.au/world/eleven-children-forced-by-adoptive-parents-to-sleep-in-cages-reach-224-million-settlement-in-ohio-20140305-hvg51.html