Does prior abuse by bio-parents excuse current abuse by the Gravelles?

Behavioral problems of caged kids debated
Psychologists, defense team are at odds
Sielicki, Jim. Toledo Blade, Dec. 13, 2006, pg. B1.

NORWALK, Ohio - Disagreements over behavioral problems exploded in court yesterday when child psychologists clashed with defense attorneys over prenatal drug abuse versus the parents who confined their children to cages and the methods used to punish the children.

Three Columbus psychologists hired by Huron County to assess the 11 adopted children of Michael and Sharen Gravelle testified yesterday in county Common Pleas Court that forcing the children to sleep in wood-and-wire enclosures contributed to their behavior problems.

Sheriff's deputies, accompanied by social workers, removed the children ages 1 to 15 on Sept. 9, 2005, after receiving reports that some were kept in cages.

One of the Gravelles' sons was HIV positive and a girl was born with a heart defect. Other children had learning disorders.

But the degree of damage allegedly caused by lengthy confinement in cages and the parents' strict discipline was under dispute during much of the testimony.

Keith Hughes, who practices with his brother, Ron Hughes, in the North America Child Resource Center, said about 80 percent of a child's development can be affected by conditions in the womb, such as drug or alcohol use by the pregnant woman.

Parental upbringing and "coercive behavior" can be a contributing factor for the remainder of a child's development, he said during cross-examination by Kenneth Myers, the Gravelles' defense attorney.

Mr. Myers tried to shift behavior problems away from the Gravelles in his cross-examination. One of the two boys under discussion yesterday was born prematurely with a drug addiction.

"The child came into the world with substantial problems," Mr. Myers said.

"Given that, you can't say the conditions in the Gravelle home" posed a greater risk in delaying the child's development, he said. - IT CAN'T HAVE HELPED

Defense attorney Richard Drucker jumped on the psychologist's use of the 80-20 percent figures, challenging him to name the source of his research. When Keith Hughes didn't answer, the defense attorney attacked.

"You're throwing figures recklessly at the jury," Mr. Drucker said, walking away from the witness before the judge told the jury to disregard the exchange.

Prosecutor Russ Leffler led Keith Hughes through a series of questions about the effects on three of the Gravelle children's mental health because they were sent to the enclosed beds for lengthy periods as punishment as well as to sleep.

Mr. Leffler also questioned the psychologist about the potential of mental harm to a girl whose head was pushed in the toilet as a method to get her to stop drinking from it.

The girl, who has Down syndrome, also was punished by putting a sock or rag in her mouth when it hung open.

Her mother, who used marijuana while pregnant, abandoned the girl, Mr. Myers said.

The Gravelles are charged with 16 counts of felony child endangering and eight misdemeanor child endangering charges. If convicted, they could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and fined $10,000 on each felony charge.

The parents say they built the enclosed beds and placed alarms on the doors to stop the children from fighting, urinating around the house, starting a fire, and putting themselves in danger.

Mr. Myers said some of the children had said they felt safe in their beds, although the psychologist said the cages were built for the "Gravelles' convenience."

"Long periods of confinement are a known mental-health risk. You don't put people in enforced isolation and enforced confinement," Keith Hughes said.

Ronald Hughes, co-owner of the Columbus facility and author of books used to train social workers who deal with child-welfare issues, said the "concept of isolating children in cages" is no longer used in the United States, although he acknowledged that short-term confinement to protect a child's "health or welfare" is acceptable if the confinement is monitored closely.

He said confining a child who is in an uncontrollable rage may be used "if done appropriately as a last resort."

He said sleeping in cages such as those found in the Gravelle home "reminds you of solitary confinement rather than bed."

Several of the children suffer from reactive attachment disorder, a rare condition in which children don't relate or develop a bond with their parents or care-givers, Ronald Hughes said. - AND SOLITARY CONFINEMENT DOES NOT FACILITATE BONDING

William Benninger, a third psychiatrist with the Child Resource Center in Columbus, returned to court yesterday for cross-examination.

He testified that he examined five of the older children, while Keith Hughes examined the younger ones after they were removed from the home.

Testimony is expected to continue today.

Elaine Thompson, a counselor hired by the Gravelle family to help deal with their children's behavior, could be called to testify as one of the final witnesses before the prosecution rests.

She is under indictment on similar child abuse charges and is to be tried once the Gravelle case is completed.

The Gravelles' defense attorneys said during several cross-examinations that she was aware of the cages in the home, but never reported them to social service agencies under the belief they were a "novel" way of dealing with the children's behavior problems.