Elaine Thompson deserves jail time

Caged kids' therapist sentenced
Judge orders probation, loss of license for 5 years
Feehan, Jennifer. Toledo Blade, April 11, 2007, pg. A1.

NORWALK, Ohio - Despite the prosecutor's insistence that she spend at least 200 days in jail, a therapist who failed to report that children she was counseling were being forced to sleep in cages was placed on probation for five years yesterday in Huron County Common Pleas Court.

Elaine Thompson, 64, of Elyria also was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service, pay $2,250 in fines, and surrender her social work license for five years. In an agreement with prosecutors that included the dismissal of 16 felonies, she pleaded guilty in February to three misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect.

"This entire situation has been tragic," Mrs. Thompson told the court in a brief statement. "I'm sorry for the role that I played in it." - AS INDEED, YOU SHOULD BE

The licensed independent social worker was indicted in February, 2006, along with Michael and Sharen Gravelle on abuse and neglect charges after investigators found that some of the Gravelles' 11 adopted special-needs children had been forced to sleep in wood-and-wire cages. The Wakeman, Ohio, couple lost custody of the children last year, and in February they were each sentenced to two years in prison for child endangering and child abuse convictions.

Mrs. Thompson testified at a juvenile court hearing last year that she was initially uneasy about the cages but accepted the Gravelles' reasoning that they were necessary to control the children's disruptive behavior and keep them safe at night.

Her attorney, Jay Milano, told the court yesterday that of all the individuals and agencies involved in the Gravelle case, only his client had accepted any fault. Mrs. Thompson, he said, "understood that when that jury found the Gravelles guilty of their crimes that she must accept responsibility for some of this."

He said she had lost her objectivity while trying to help the family.

"She is a good person in a terrible situation who admits that she erred," Mr. Milano said.

Huron County Prosecutor Russ Leffler said Mrs. Thompson had a duty to report what she saw in the Gravelles' home during weekly visits she made there over three years.

"This is the worst form of failure to report child abuse that you can have," he said. "She was in the home for a lengthy period of time. She saw the conditions and the conditions were terrible."

Mr. Leffler accused Mrs. Thompson of "choosing the easy path of taking her $100,000 from the county" rather than reporting the abuse and neglect she witnessed in the home.

Mrs. Thompson was hired by the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services to work with some of the Gravelles' children on behavior issues at the Gravelles' request. Mr. Leffler said she was paid about $30,000 a year to work with the family.

After listening to arguments on both sides, Judge Earl McGimpsey said he had received and read 85 letters submitted by Mrs. Thompson's colleagues, clients, parents of other children she had counseled, friends, and relatives. He said all of them spoke of her compassionate approach to helping people.

"She has had a long and exemplary career and that should not be ignored," the judge said before imposing a suspended 90-day jail sentence.

More than 30 family members and other supporters filled the courtroom for the sentencing. Afterward, they applauded as Mrs. Thompson emerged from a conference room with her attorneys.

Mr. Milano called the sentence a fair one.

"I think Judge McGimpsey did an extraordinary job of understanding Mrs. Thompson's situation," he said.

The prosecutor, who was disappointed in the brief prison sentence the judge gave to the Gravelles, said he was not surprised the judge did not send Mrs. Thompson to jail.

"The judge doesn't see it the way I do," Mr. Leffler said, adding that he was pleased the judge had at least ordered her to surrender her social work license. "That will protect the public."




Caption:
Thompson

Author: JENNIFER FEEHAN BLADE STAFF WRITER
Page: A1