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NORWALK, OHIO---A week after the parents of 11-special needs adoptive children were sentenced to two years in prison for forcing their children to sleep in cages, a social worker who was aware of the situation pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors of failing to report a crime.
Elaine Thompson, 64, of Elyria, was a private social worker who first contacted Sharen and Michael Gravelle in 2000. Sharen Gravelle had testified that she had located Thompson through the Internet when she was seeking help to control unruly children. Gravelle had testified that Thompson was aware of the sleeping arrangements and had approved the wire and wood enclosures.
Had Thompson not decided to accept a plea deal which dismissed 29 charges, Judge Earl McGimpsey had already stated that he intended to move the venue of the trial and to appoint Judge Ronald Bowman as a visiting judge to preside. Sixteen felony counts of aiding child abuse and 13 misdemeanor counts of complicity to child abuse and failure to report child abuse were dismissed.
Bowman, like retired visiting judge Richard Markus, seems to be the handpicked choice to adjudicate high profile cases.
Thompson could be sentenced up to 90 days in jail on each count when she's sentenced on April 10.
Following a three week trial, the Gravelles were found guilty of four felony counts of child endangering, two misdemeanor counts of child endangering and five misdemeanor counts of child abuse. The couple had pleaded not guilty, saying that they needed to keep some of the children in enclosed areas with an alarm in order to stop them from wandering around the house at night.
The Gravelle's 11 adopted children, aged one to 14, were removed from their Huron County home in September 2005 after sheriff's deputies found that 3 ½ foot tall cages had been built around some of the children's bunk beds. The cages, painted bright blue, red and yellow, were surrounded by chicken wire and plywood and equipped with alarms to signal when the cages were opened.
Defense attorneys said that Thompson had recommended his clients build the structures to protect the children. Thompson had testified at a custody hearing that the children's behavior improved with the use of the cages. The Gravelles lost custody of all the children.
Some of the children had been placed in the home as foster children before the couple adopted them. The Gravelles had adopted black youngsters who were afflicted with autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, HIV and pica, an eating disorder in which children eat nonfood items such as dirt and rocks. 2-21-07
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© 2007 North
Country Gazette
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