Baby fighting to survive injuries
Jailed parents of 11-month-old boy have history of problems caring for children, authorities say
Zachariah, Holly. Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. E1.
A baby lay tethered to life-supporting tubes and hoses in Children's Hospital. His father sat in jail, accused of beating him.
And as 11-month-old Dana Robinson struggled to breathe yesterday, police arrested his mother, too.
Parents Michael B. Robinson and Sue Hutchins were in the Logan County jail yesterday, and Dana became a ward of the county.
Six other children -- three sons of Robinson's, two daughters of Hutchins' and another son they have together -- were taken into protective custody Monday. All have been placed with relatives or foster families.
John Holtkamp, director of Logan County Children's Services, said his office opened a case with the couple more than two years ago, but it was closed in December "because the mother had made significant improvement."
The couple did not live together, but police said Dana had spent Sunday night at his father's house on the south side of Bellefontaine, 40 miles northwest of Columbus.
A civil-protection order had been in place preventing Robinson from spending time with Dana, his 2-year-old brother and Hutchins' two girls from a previous relationship. But Hutchins asked to have herself and the boys removed from that order, and the court approved the change in August.
This latest incident unfolded Monday when Robinson, 43, called 911 just before 7:30 a.m. and said his son wasn't breathing.
"Has he been sick?" a dispatcher asked.
"Yes ... he's been sick," Robinson said. "He fell one day and hit his mouth on a table because he's trying to walk. Please hurry."
An emergency squad took Dana to Bellefontaine's Mary Rutan Hospital, and doctors there summoned police.
Police Lt. Ron Birt said Dana "had multiple bruises in multiple areas from what was apparent and obvious abuse."
Dana was flown to Children's Hospital and put on a ventilator. But Holtkamp said neurologists reported some activity in the baby's brain and called it "an encouraging sign." A hospital spokeswoman said Dana was in critical condition.
As long as Dana is in the county's custody, medical decisions will be the responsibility of Children's Services.
"Should it come to that, the court would get involved, a team of professionals would get involved and we would undertake that grim task together," Holtkamp said.
The boy's mother likely won't play much of a role. Hutchins, 35, appeared at the Logan County jail yesterday to attend the emergency-care hearing for Dana and was arrested on a probation violation.
Both she and Robinson had been charged in 2005 with child endangering in a case that began on Christmas Day 2004. That's when Children's Services workers were notified that Dana's older brother, Draven Robinson, who was just 1 month old at the time, had a broken leg. Draven was placed in foster care but later reunited with his mother.
While that investigation was under way, the couple had a run-in with police in March 2005 concerning the possible abuse of Hutchins' two daughters from a previous relationship.
According to police reports, the 7-year-old girl had bruises on her face, elbow, leg and back. When a caseworker visited the house, it was found that someone had used heavy makeup to try to conceal the marks.
In interviews with detectives at that time, Robinson admitted that he had spanked the girl and gave her "horse bites" when they were joking around but said he didn't see why it was a big deal.
At yesterday's custody hearing, Holtkamp said, Robinson said things are being blown out of proportion, and he told the court: "I never said I was a perfect dad. But I'm good enough." - NO, YOU'RE NOT
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Playground for children with special needs honors Marcus
Playground honoring Marcus in works
Kemme, Steve. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2007.
ANDERSON TWP. - Efforts to raise money for an Anderson Township playground that will memorialize Marcus Fiesel have been so successful that construction to finish the playground will begin this spring.
Nearly $400,000 has been raised to build the playground in Beech Acres Park on Beechmont Avenue. It will accommodate children with physical and mental disabilities.
Part of the playground will be dedicated to Marcus, the 3-year-old developmentally delayed boy whose foster mother, Liz Carroll, was convicted last week of murdering him. The murder trial of his foster father, David Carroll Jr., is scheduled for March 19 in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.
"Not in our wildest dreams did we think we'd get the money we needed this quickly," said Duffy Beischel, an Anderson Park District commissioner.
About $70,000 was raised in a campaign initiated by Clear Channel Cincinnati and WLWT television for a memorial for Marcus in Anderson, Beischel said.
Hundreds of people last August searched for Marcus in Juilfs Park, another Anderson Township park, after Liz Carroll falsely claimed he was lost in the park. That led Clear Channel Cincinnati and WLWT to kick off a fund drive for a Marcus memorial.
Much of the money donated for the playground was not necessarily connected to Marcus, Beischel said. Some donations were made before Marcus' death and some were given to help special-needs children in general, he said.
The park district has not solicited donations for the playground in Marcus' name, because park officials don't want to exploit the tragedy.
The only recreation equipment in the playground now is a set of swings. The playground will include a canyon climb, a train station and train, a riverboat shelter, a treehouse and a playhouse.
"It will be awesome," said Molly McClure, park district executive director.
The park district needs $180,000 more to finish the playground. McClure said the district has applied for grants to help close the gap. Donations of in-kind services are being accepted.
The park district is consulting with a child psychologist and others about what might be an appropriate memorial for Marcus.
"We want to make sure that the memorial's message has a positive spin so that children will feel safe and secure and not fearful," McClure said.
Kemme, Steve. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 25, 2007.
ANDERSON TWP. - Efforts to raise money for an Anderson Township playground that will memorialize Marcus Fiesel have been so successful that construction to finish the playground will begin this spring.
Nearly $400,000 has been raised to build the playground in Beech Acres Park on Beechmont Avenue. It will accommodate children with physical and mental disabilities.
Part of the playground will be dedicated to Marcus, the 3-year-old developmentally delayed boy whose foster mother, Liz Carroll, was convicted last week of murdering him. The murder trial of his foster father, David Carroll Jr., is scheduled for March 19 in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.
"Not in our wildest dreams did we think we'd get the money we needed this quickly," said Duffy Beischel, an Anderson Park District commissioner.
About $70,000 was raised in a campaign initiated by Clear Channel Cincinnati and WLWT television for a memorial for Marcus in Anderson, Beischel said.
Hundreds of people last August searched for Marcus in Juilfs Park, another Anderson Township park, after Liz Carroll falsely claimed he was lost in the park. That led Clear Channel Cincinnati and WLWT to kick off a fund drive for a Marcus memorial.
Much of the money donated for the playground was not necessarily connected to Marcus, Beischel said. Some donations were made before Marcus' death and some were given to help special-needs children in general, he said.
The park district has not solicited donations for the playground in Marcus' name, because park officials don't want to exploit the tragedy.
The only recreation equipment in the playground now is a set of swings. The playground will include a canyon climb, a train station and train, a riverboat shelter, a treehouse and a playhouse.
"It will be awesome," said Molly McClure, park district executive director.
The park district needs $180,000 more to finish the playground. McClure said the district has applied for grants to help close the gap. Donations of in-kind services are being accepted.
The park district is consulting with a child psychologist and others about what might be an appropriate memorial for Marcus.
"We want to make sure that the memorial's message has a positive spin so that children will feel safe and secure and not fearful," McClure said.
All foster parents in Hamilton Co. subject to ongoing background checks
Foster parents get ultimatum
Allow background checks or lose children, agency orders
Coolidge, Sharon. Cincinnati Enquirer, March 6, 2007.
Within 30 days all foster parents in Hamilton County must agree to ongoing background checks - or children will be removed from their homes, Hamilton County's top foster care official said Monday.
His comments came a day after two county officials attacked his agency for bureaucratic foot-dragging in making sure all foster parents had ongoing criminal background checks.
At a morning meeting with county commissioners, Rick Roberts, director of the county's Job and Family Services, also revealed that:
His agency was unaware of six of the 27 arrests discovered in a background check by Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann. Those six arrests did not result in convictions and thus were not caught by the department's background check, which looks only at convictions, he said.
Of the 27 foster parents arrested, 16 are under investigation by his department - and may lose their foster children.
An ombudsman position with independent oversight will be created.
Foster mother Danita Atwood, 43, of Springfield Township said she's in favor of the background checks - and signed her consent form the day it arrived.
"The bottom line is when you decide you're going to take on the responsibility of foster care, from the time you put in the application, your life is put under a microscope," said Atwood, who has adopted two foster children placed with her.
The county's announcements came at a Monday morning meeting among Hamilton County commissioners, Roberts and Hartmann.
Hartmann, along with Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine - both Republicans - had revealed last week that JFS was allowing background checks only of foster parents licensed through the county - and not of foster parents licensed through private agencies.
They questioned why children were permitted to live with some of the parents, one of whom was arrested on a charge of child endangering.
There are 750 foster children in Hamilton County. There are 410 foster parents licensed through the county, caring for 305 children. The other 445 children are cared for by foster parents licensed through private agencies. JFS could not say Monday how many parents are licensed through private agencies.
Of the county-controlled foster parents, 106 have not been checked. Of the privately licensed parents, none have been checked. Consent forms are still coming in, according to JFS.
An agreement between Hartmann and JFS about how the checks will be done is expected to be signed Wednesday.
"We have a serious problem," Hartmann said. "We have to make sure we are not putting children in environments that jeopardize their health and safety."
Roberts said agency staff worked all weekend reviewing the 27 cases. The reviews were done by quality assurance employees who typically work outside the foster care program, Gregg said.
Roberts added it's his responsibility to make sure these children have homes and there is already a shortage of foster parents.
He promised to follow the rules, "despite any trauma the disruption might create for the child," Roberts said in the release. "We are unsure of the ramifications of this decision.
"We do know that we have a severe need for foster parents at this time and losing any foster parent from our 285-home network or from the private agencies that care for 445 of our children would put additional strain on the system."
Hartmann uncovered the arrests while implementing a criminal background check system that allows for immediate notification if a foster parent is arrested. It's believed to be the first of its kind in the state.
Allow background checks or lose children, agency orders
Coolidge, Sharon. Cincinnati Enquirer, March 6, 2007.
Within 30 days all foster parents in Hamilton County must agree to ongoing background checks - or children will be removed from their homes, Hamilton County's top foster care official said Monday.
His comments came a day after two county officials attacked his agency for bureaucratic foot-dragging in making sure all foster parents had ongoing criminal background checks.
At a morning meeting with county commissioners, Rick Roberts, director of the county's Job and Family Services, also revealed that:
His agency was unaware of six of the 27 arrests discovered in a background check by Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann. Those six arrests did not result in convictions and thus were not caught by the department's background check, which looks only at convictions, he said.
Of the 27 foster parents arrested, 16 are under investigation by his department - and may lose their foster children.
An ombudsman position with independent oversight will be created.
Foster mother Danita Atwood, 43, of Springfield Township said she's in favor of the background checks - and signed her consent form the day it arrived.
"The bottom line is when you decide you're going to take on the responsibility of foster care, from the time you put in the application, your life is put under a microscope," said Atwood, who has adopted two foster children placed with her.
The county's announcements came at a Monday morning meeting among Hamilton County commissioners, Roberts and Hartmann.
Hartmann, along with Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine - both Republicans - had revealed last week that JFS was allowing background checks only of foster parents licensed through the county - and not of foster parents licensed through private agencies.
They questioned why children were permitted to live with some of the parents, one of whom was arrested on a charge of child endangering.
There are 750 foster children in Hamilton County. There are 410 foster parents licensed through the county, caring for 305 children. The other 445 children are cared for by foster parents licensed through private agencies. JFS could not say Monday how many parents are licensed through private agencies.
Of the county-controlled foster parents, 106 have not been checked. Of the privately licensed parents, none have been checked. Consent forms are still coming in, according to JFS.
An agreement between Hartmann and JFS about how the checks will be done is expected to be signed Wednesday.
"We have a serious problem," Hartmann said. "We have to make sure we are not putting children in environments that jeopardize their health and safety."
Roberts said agency staff worked all weekend reviewing the 27 cases. The reviews were done by quality assurance employees who typically work outside the foster care program, Gregg said.
Roberts added it's his responsibility to make sure these children have homes and there is already a shortage of foster parents.
He promised to follow the rules, "despite any trauma the disruption might create for the child," Roberts said in the release. "We are unsure of the ramifications of this decision.
"We do know that we have a severe need for foster parents at this time and losing any foster parent from our 285-home network or from the private agencies that care for 445 of our children would put additional strain on the system."
Hartmann uncovered the arrests while implementing a criminal background check system that allows for immediate notification if a foster parent is arrested. It's believed to be the first of its kind in the state.
Monday, March 05, 2007
$110, 000 consulting contract displeases County Commissioners
Children Services levy in doubt
Higgins, Candice Brooks. Cincinnati Post, March 1, 2007, pg. A2.
Voter support for a levy renewal this year for Butler County Children Services already was questionable after foster child Marcus Fiesel's death.
But county commissioners said Wednesday the agency's board added another strike against the levy's passage when it awarded the departing director a $110,000 consulting contract."Stunned, disappointed, and now angry" was how county Commission President Gregory Jolivette described his emotions in a letter to the board Wednesday after learning of the contract he called "unwarranted and unprecedented." His letter asked the board to reconsider its decision.
"This action by the board doesn't send the right message that we want to send to the public about restoring confidence in the agency," Jolivette said.
County Commissioners Michael Fox and Charles Furmon concurred with Jolivette's disappointment and frustration.
The Children Services Board unanimously approved the agreement Tuesday that will keep Executive Director Jann Heffner on its payroll for nearly 15 months beyond the effective date of her resignation. On Feb. 16, she announced her plans to step down, saying she had become a target of criticism since Marcus' death and a distraction from the agency's progress.
The 3-year-old boy died in August after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll, left him wrapped in a blanket for two days in their Union Township home while they attended a family reunion in Northern Kentucky. Both are beginning long prison terms after being convicted of murder and other charges in the past week.
Heffner will depart her position April 15, but will stay on as a consultant as she continues to collect on a $125,000 annual salary until June 30, the board said Tuesday night. Beginning July 1, the new one-year consulting contract will pay Heffner $110,000 as she assists with the transition of a new director.
"The letter from Commissioner Jolivette seems reactionary and does not take into consideration the real intent of the board," the board's chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, said in a prepared statement.
Sloan said Heffner is assigned to several specific projects -- some yet to be determined -- and her new contract is "not a severance agreement nor just a consulting agreement."
Tuesday night -- at the same meeting the contract was approved -- the board decided to place a 2-mill renewal levy on the Nov. 6 ballot. The existing levy costs taxpayers $56.74 for every $100,000 of home value and a renewal would not tack on new taxes. More than $15 million in tax income -- about 60 percent of the agency's budget -- is on the line as an existing 2-mill levy is set to expire Dec. 31.
"It's difficult to get any kind of levy passed, but hopefully the citizens will see that this is for the children and see past this," Furmon said.
Higgins, Candice Brooks. Cincinnati Post, March 1, 2007, pg. A2.
Voter support for a levy renewal this year for Butler County Children Services already was questionable after foster child Marcus Fiesel's death.
But county commissioners said Wednesday the agency's board added another strike against the levy's passage when it awarded the departing director a $110,000 consulting contract."Stunned, disappointed, and now angry" was how county Commission President Gregory Jolivette described his emotions in a letter to the board Wednesday after learning of the contract he called "unwarranted and unprecedented." His letter asked the board to reconsider its decision.
"This action by the board doesn't send the right message that we want to send to the public about restoring confidence in the agency," Jolivette said.
County Commissioners Michael Fox and Charles Furmon concurred with Jolivette's disappointment and frustration.
The Children Services Board unanimously approved the agreement Tuesday that will keep Executive Director Jann Heffner on its payroll for nearly 15 months beyond the effective date of her resignation. On Feb. 16, she announced her plans to step down, saying she had become a target of criticism since Marcus' death and a distraction from the agency's progress.
The 3-year-old boy died in August after his foster parents, Liz and David Carroll, left him wrapped in a blanket for two days in their Union Township home while they attended a family reunion in Northern Kentucky. Both are beginning long prison terms after being convicted of murder and other charges in the past week.
Heffner will depart her position April 15, but will stay on as a consultant as she continues to collect on a $125,000 annual salary until June 30, the board said Tuesday night. Beginning July 1, the new one-year consulting contract will pay Heffner $110,000 as she assists with the transition of a new director.
"The letter from Commissioner Jolivette seems reactionary and does not take into consideration the real intent of the board," the board's chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, said in a prepared statement.
Sloan said Heffner is assigned to several specific projects -- some yet to be determined -- and her new contract is "not a severance agreement nor just a consulting agreement."
Tuesday night -- at the same meeting the contract was approved -- the board decided to place a 2-mill renewal levy on the Nov. 6 ballot. The existing levy costs taxpayers $56.74 for every $100,000 of home value and a renewal would not tack on new taxes. More than $15 million in tax income -- about 60 percent of the agency's budget -- is on the line as an existing 2-mill levy is set to expire Dec. 31.
"It's difficult to get any kind of levy passed, but hopefully the citizens will see that this is for the children and see past this," Furmon said.
She will already be in jail until age 85, what does it matter now?
Liz Carroll may admit lesser charges
Kelley, Eileen. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B2.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Tuesday it is unlikely Liz Carroll will face a trial on the charges she faces in Hamilton County.Instead, Deters said Tuesday, he expects Carroll to enter a plea of guilty. Liz Carroll could have faced eight more years in prison if found guilty on the charges of perjury, making false alarms and inducing panic.
Deters said if Carroll goes ahead with a plea, he will ask a judge to run the charges concurrently with her 54-years-to-life sentence. "I think 54 to life is sufficient," he said.
She was found guilty of murdering her foster child Marcus Fiesel and six other charges in Clermont County last week.
Deters stood by the decision to grant family friend Amy Baker immunity, though he admitted she has shortcomings.
"She's no saint," Deters said.
He said that on Aug. 28, the day Carroll and Baker were taken to speak with the grand jury, he believed Liz Carroll, David Carroll and Baker all were lying about what really happened to Marcus.
He said Baker was given one last chance to tell the truth or she would be charged with perjury.
He said Baker spoke privately with an attorney for about 45 minutes.
After emerging from the meeting, she was "emotionally distraught and told us what we now know," Deters said of the story that Marcus was bound and left in a closet, and that his cries could be heard as they pulled away to attend a family reunion.
Deters said that in the end, Baker was believable and all the pieces of information she gave them panned out.
"The Carrolls told more stories," said Deters.
When asked what he thought about David Carroll's apology in court Tuesday and his admission that he was there when he said Baker bound Marcus, Deters responded: "If he was half the man ... Why didn't he go to Liz's trial and tell the jury what happened?"
Judge OKs settlement
A Butler County judge Tuesday signed off on a settlement with Lifeway for Youth and the estate of Marcus Fiesel. Under the terms of the settlement, up to $800 a month will be given to the caregivers of Marcus' brother and sister. Donna Trevino, Marcus' mother, is trying to gain custody of her children after telling social workers last April she was unable to care for Marcus and his siblings. The original $5 million suit was filed shortly after Marcus' death. The estate gets $207,000 and the judge reduced the attorney fees to roughly 25 percent of that settlement. Lifeway placed Marcus with the foster parents convicted of killing him.
Kelley, Eileen. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B2.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Tuesday it is unlikely Liz Carroll will face a trial on the charges she faces in Hamilton County.Instead, Deters said Tuesday, he expects Carroll to enter a plea of guilty. Liz Carroll could have faced eight more years in prison if found guilty on the charges of perjury, making false alarms and inducing panic.
Deters said if Carroll goes ahead with a plea, he will ask a judge to run the charges concurrently with her 54-years-to-life sentence. "I think 54 to life is sufficient," he said.
She was found guilty of murdering her foster child Marcus Fiesel and six other charges in Clermont County last week.
Deters stood by the decision to grant family friend Amy Baker immunity, though he admitted she has shortcomings.
"She's no saint," Deters said.
He said that on Aug. 28, the day Carroll and Baker were taken to speak with the grand jury, he believed Liz Carroll, David Carroll and Baker all were lying about what really happened to Marcus.
He said Baker was given one last chance to tell the truth or she would be charged with perjury.
He said Baker spoke privately with an attorney for about 45 minutes.
After emerging from the meeting, she was "emotionally distraught and told us what we now know," Deters said of the story that Marcus was bound and left in a closet, and that his cries could be heard as they pulled away to attend a family reunion.
Deters said that in the end, Baker was believable and all the pieces of information she gave them panned out.
"The Carrolls told more stories," said Deters.
When asked what he thought about David Carroll's apology in court Tuesday and his admission that he was there when he said Baker bound Marcus, Deters responded: "If he was half the man ... Why didn't he go to Liz's trial and tell the jury what happened?"
Judge OKs settlement
A Butler County judge Tuesday signed off on a settlement with Lifeway for Youth and the estate of Marcus Fiesel. Under the terms of the settlement, up to $800 a month will be given to the caregivers of Marcus' brother and sister. Donna Trevino, Marcus' mother, is trying to gain custody of her children after telling social workers last April she was unable to care for Marcus and his siblings. The original $5 million suit was filed shortly after Marcus' death. The estate gets $207,000 and the judge reduced the attorney fees to roughly 25 percent of that settlement. Lifeway placed Marcus with the foster parents convicted of killing him.
Jolivette doesn't want Heffner to get consultant contract
Board rapped for $110K plum
Children services' outgoing head Heffner given consultant pact
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, March 1, 2007, pg. C1.
HAMILTON - A Butler County commissioner called for children services officials to yank an agreement that will keep outgoing executive director Jann Heffner on the payroll with a six-figure salary for another year.
"I am stunned, disappointed and now angry," board President Greg Jolivette wrote to the agency Wednesday about the children services board's decision to pay Heffner $110,000 as a consultant.
Jolivette said the timing is especially bad when the embattled agency is trying to restore public trust in the hope of getting a 2-mill renewal levy passed in November.
Heffner tendered her letter of resignation earlier this month, saying she had become a distraction at the agency that has weathered a storm of criticism since the August death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in foster care.
Last month, Heffner's leadership again came into question after the agency's ombudsman criticized her involvement in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Heffner leaves her $125,000 job officially April 15 and will move back to Delaware County, but will continue to be paid a salary and work on a court improvement project through June.
The Butler County Children Services Board voted Tuesday night to approve the additional consulting contract with Heffner, even raising the annual amount from the $87,600 that was first proposed. She'll be paid $9,166 a month through July 1, 2008, under the contract she signed Tuesday.
The board's chairman criticized the backlash from Jolivette.
"This is a reactionary political letter," said the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, the board chairman. "This is not some kind of pay-off or buyout or severance pay."
Heffner, a lawyer with a longtime involvement in the child welfare system, will be assigned to specific projects, some already decided, others not, Sloan said.
A copy of the contract, provided to The Enquirer, did not spell out anything except the court improvement project. Otherwise, Heffner "will focus on legal and clinical issues" and "deliver advice and guidance" to the board.
Jolivette said he has nothing against Heffner, but he thinks the board should instead hire Heffner on an as-needed monthly basis.
"Jann has done some good things, some positive things for the agency. But, I think this is just unprecedented for a person who is retiring - that they will give her a consulting contract like this," Jolivette said.
"They've stated they are concerned about renewal of the levy and then they go about spending in this fashion. It sends the wrong message out to the public."
Children services' outgoing head Heffner given consultant pact
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, March 1, 2007, pg. C1.
HAMILTON - A Butler County commissioner called for children services officials to yank an agreement that will keep outgoing executive director Jann Heffner on the payroll with a six-figure salary for another year.
"I am stunned, disappointed and now angry," board President Greg Jolivette wrote to the agency Wednesday about the children services board's decision to pay Heffner $110,000 as a consultant.
Jolivette said the timing is especially bad when the embattled agency is trying to restore public trust in the hope of getting a 2-mill renewal levy passed in November.
Heffner tendered her letter of resignation earlier this month, saying she had become a distraction at the agency that has weathered a storm of criticism since the August death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel in foster care.
Last month, Heffner's leadership again came into question after the agency's ombudsman criticized her involvement in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Heffner leaves her $125,000 job officially April 15 and will move back to Delaware County, but will continue to be paid a salary and work on a court improvement project through June.
The Butler County Children Services Board voted Tuesday night to approve the additional consulting contract with Heffner, even raising the annual amount from the $87,600 that was first proposed. She'll be paid $9,166 a month through July 1, 2008, under the contract she signed Tuesday.
The board's chairman criticized the backlash from Jolivette.
"This is a reactionary political letter," said the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan, the board chairman. "This is not some kind of pay-off or buyout or severance pay."
Heffner, a lawyer with a longtime involvement in the child welfare system, will be assigned to specific projects, some already decided, others not, Sloan said.
A copy of the contract, provided to The Enquirer, did not spell out anything except the court improvement project. Otherwise, Heffner "will focus on legal and clinical issues" and "deliver advice and guidance" to the board.
Jolivette said he has nothing against Heffner, but he thinks the board should instead hire Heffner on an as-needed monthly basis.
"Jann has done some good things, some positive things for the agency. But, I think this is just unprecedented for a person who is retiring - that they will give her a consulting contract like this," Jolivette said.
"They've stated they are concerned about renewal of the levy and then they go about spending in this fashion. It sends the wrong message out to the public."
Heffner will serve as resource for interim and successive director
Children Services picks fill-in boss
Finance director gets Butler County job temporarily
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B2.
HAMILTON - The finance director of the Butler County Children Services Board was named interim director Tuesday to replace Jann Heffner when she steps down April 15.
Jeff Centers, who was executive director at Warren County Children Services for eight years before leaving in October and joining Butler County, does not want Heffner's job permanently, said the board chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan.
But he said Centers, 43, will be a good fit short term because of his experience.
"He also is new to our agency and has not been here long enough to create enemies," Sloan said.
Heffner, who has served as Butler County's top-ranking children services official since 2002, will be around for a while to help in the transition.
The county is paying her through June 30, the end of her one-year contract as executive director. She said she will be working for the county from April through June on a court improvement project. Then the board will pay her $110,000 through June 2008 to stay on as a consultant for children services.
"We want her to be a resource available to the interim director and the successive permanent director," Sloan said.
Heffner, who was paid $125,000, handed in her letter of resignation earlier this month in the wake of the death of Marcus Fiesel in foster care and questions about her actions in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Her departure comes at a time the agency's independent board is in jeopardy of being disbanded while officials try to bolster public support for a 2-mill renewal levy in November.
Heffner had said she felt she had become a "distraction" to the agency's mission of helping children. She was at the board's meeting Tuesday.
"Life's just too short," she said Tuesday of the troubles that faced her as the agency's executive director.
Heffner announced her plan to leave the job this month in the midst of the trial of Liz Carroll, the foster mother convicted of murder and other felony charges in the death of 3-year-old Marcus, a developmentally delayed boy from Middletown. Carroll was sent to prison this week for 54 years to life.
Butler County Children Services Board placed Marcus with the Carroll family through a private foster care company, Lifeway For Youth.
Finance director gets Butler County job temporarily
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B2.
HAMILTON - The finance director of the Butler County Children Services Board was named interim director Tuesday to replace Jann Heffner when she steps down April 15.
Jeff Centers, who was executive director at Warren County Children Services for eight years before leaving in October and joining Butler County, does not want Heffner's job permanently, said the board chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan.
But he said Centers, 43, will be a good fit short term because of his experience.
"He also is new to our agency and has not been here long enough to create enemies," Sloan said.
Heffner, who has served as Butler County's top-ranking children services official since 2002, will be around for a while to help in the transition.
The county is paying her through June 30, the end of her one-year contract as executive director. She said she will be working for the county from April through June on a court improvement project. Then the board will pay her $110,000 through June 2008 to stay on as a consultant for children services.
"We want her to be a resource available to the interim director and the successive permanent director," Sloan said.
Heffner, who was paid $125,000, handed in her letter of resignation earlier this month in the wake of the death of Marcus Fiesel in foster care and questions about her actions in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Her departure comes at a time the agency's independent board is in jeopardy of being disbanded while officials try to bolster public support for a 2-mill renewal levy in November.
Heffner had said she felt she had become a "distraction" to the agency's mission of helping children. She was at the board's meeting Tuesday.
"Life's just too short," she said Tuesday of the troubles that faced her as the agency's executive director.
Heffner announced her plan to leave the job this month in the midst of the trial of Liz Carroll, the foster mother convicted of murder and other felony charges in the death of 3-year-old Marcus, a developmentally delayed boy from Middletown. Carroll was sent to prison this week for 54 years to life.
Butler County Children Services Board placed Marcus with the Carroll family through a private foster care company, Lifeway For Youth.
Jeff Centers does not want Jann Heffner's job permanently
Children Services picks chief
Finance director gets Butler County job temporarily
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B1.
HAMILTON - The finance director of the Butler County Children Services Board was named interim director Tuesday to replace Jann Heffner when she steps down April 15.
Jeff Centers, who was executive director at Warren County Children Services for eight years before leaving in October and joining Butler County, does not want Heffner's job permanently, said the board chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan.
But he said Centers, 43, will be a good fit short term because of his experience.
"He also is new to our agency and has not been here long enough to create enemies," Sloan said.
Heffner, who has served as Butler County's top-ranking children services official since 2002, will be around for a while to help in the transition.
The county is paying her through June 30, the end of her one-year contract as executive director. She said she will be working for the county from April through June on a court improvement project. Then the board will pay her $110,000 through June 2008 to stay on as a consultant for children services.
"We want her to be a resource available to the interim director and the successive permanent director," Sloan said.
Heffner's departure comes at a time the agency's independent board is in jeopardy of being disbanded while officials try to bolster public support for a 2-mill renewal levy in November.
Heffner had said she felt she had become a "distraction" to the agency's mission of helping children. She was at the board's meeting Tuesday.
"Life's just too short," she said Tuesday of the troubles that faced her as the agency's executive director.
Heffner announced her plan to leave the job this month in the midst of the trial of Liz Carroll, the foster mother convicted of murder and other felony charges in the death of 3-year-old Marcus, a developmentally delayed boy from Middletown. Carroll was sent to prison this week for 54 years to life.
Butler County Children Services Board placed Marcus with the Carroll family through a private foster care company.
Lifeway For Youth, which also operates in Kentucky and several other states, earlier announced it will turn over its foster care business in Ohio to another company, but now is appealing the state's recommendation to revoke its license.
Carroll's husband, David Carroll Jr., was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse in Marcus' death.
Prosecutors said Marcus died after being bound in a blanket with strapping tape and left in a closet at the Carrolls' Clermont County home Aug. 4 while the couple, their children and their live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, left for two days to attend a family reunion in Williamstown, Ky. Authorities said the boy was dead when the family returned and that David Carroll burned Marcus' body in a remote chimney in Brown County, then tossed the remains in the Ohio River.
Baker said she helped David Carroll dispose of the child's body, but prosecutors gave her immunity in exchange for her testimony against the Carrolls.
David Carroll told The Enquirer in a jail interview that Marcus was dead before the family left for the family reunion and that his wife was not home when the child died. He maintained at sentencing that Baker tied the boy up, but admitted he was there.
To stay on as consultant:
Jann Heffner (left), who was paid $125,000, handed in her letter of resignation earlier this month in the wake of the death of Marcus Fiesel in foster care and questions about her actions in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Finance director gets Butler County job temporarily
McLaughlin, Sheila. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. B1.
HAMILTON - The finance director of the Butler County Children Services Board was named interim director Tuesday to replace Jann Heffner when she steps down April 15.
Jeff Centers, who was executive director at Warren County Children Services for eight years before leaving in October and joining Butler County, does not want Heffner's job permanently, said the board chairman, the Rev. Johnny Wade Sloan.
But he said Centers, 43, will be a good fit short term because of his experience.
"He also is new to our agency and has not been here long enough to create enemies," Sloan said.
Heffner, who has served as Butler County's top-ranking children services official since 2002, will be around for a while to help in the transition.
The county is paying her through June 30, the end of her one-year contract as executive director. She said she will be working for the county from April through June on a court improvement project. Then the board will pay her $110,000 through June 2008 to stay on as a consultant for children services.
"We want her to be a resource available to the interim director and the successive permanent director," Sloan said.
Heffner's departure comes at a time the agency's independent board is in jeopardy of being disbanded while officials try to bolster public support for a 2-mill renewal levy in November.
Heffner had said she felt she had become a "distraction" to the agency's mission of helping children. She was at the board's meeting Tuesday.
"Life's just too short," she said Tuesday of the troubles that faced her as the agency's executive director.
Heffner announced her plan to leave the job this month in the midst of the trial of Liz Carroll, the foster mother convicted of murder and other felony charges in the death of 3-year-old Marcus, a developmentally delayed boy from Middletown. Carroll was sent to prison this week for 54 years to life.
Butler County Children Services Board placed Marcus with the Carroll family through a private foster care company.
Lifeway For Youth, which also operates in Kentucky and several other states, earlier announced it will turn over its foster care business in Ohio to another company, but now is appealing the state's recommendation to revoke its license.
Carroll's husband, David Carroll Jr., was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse in Marcus' death.
Prosecutors said Marcus died after being bound in a blanket with strapping tape and left in a closet at the Carrolls' Clermont County home Aug. 4 while the couple, their children and their live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, left for two days to attend a family reunion in Williamstown, Ky. Authorities said the boy was dead when the family returned and that David Carroll burned Marcus' body in a remote chimney in Brown County, then tossed the remains in the Ohio River.
Baker said she helped David Carroll dispose of the child's body, but prosecutors gave her immunity in exchange for her testimony against the Carrolls.
David Carroll told The Enquirer in a jail interview that Marcus was dead before the family left for the family reunion and that his wife was not home when the child died. He maintained at sentencing that Baker tied the boy up, but admitted he was there.
To stay on as consultant:
Jann Heffner (left), who was paid $125,000, handed in her letter of resignation earlier this month in the wake of the death of Marcus Fiesel in foster care and questions about her actions in a controversial custody case involving contract coordinator Michelle Money.
Thank you, Donna Trevino, for waiving your rights and leaving the money for your children
Boy's mom signs away settlement
Money wil be split between Marcus' two siblings, ages 2 and 12
Pack, Lauren. Dayton Daily News, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. A7.
HAMILTON — An emotional Donna Trevino ran from a courtroom Tuesday after signing away her rights in a wrongful death settlement with the agency that placed her 3-year-old son, Marcus Fiesel, with the foster parents convicted of killing him.
Judge Randy Rogers of Butler County Probate Court approved a $206,000 out-ofcourt agreement that will be split between the boy's siblings — Peaches, 2, and Michael, 12.
A trust also was established to administer the payments to the children as they grow into adulthood.
Rogers said by law, the parent is the only one permitted to receive payment in a wrongful death suit. Trevino waived that right, giving the money to Marcus' next of kin.
Trevino is still fighting in county Juvenile Court to get custody of her two other children, who were taken by county children services last spring and remain in foster care.
Money wil be split between Marcus' two siblings, ages 2 and 12
Pack, Lauren. Dayton Daily News, Feb. 28, 2007, pg. A7.
HAMILTON — An emotional Donna Trevino ran from a courtroom Tuesday after signing away her rights in a wrongful death settlement with the agency that placed her 3-year-old son, Marcus Fiesel, with the foster parents convicted of killing him.
Judge Randy Rogers of Butler County Probate Court approved a $206,000 out-ofcourt agreement that will be split between the boy's siblings — Peaches, 2, and Michael, 12.
A trust also was established to administer the payments to the children as they grow into adulthood.
Rogers said by law, the parent is the only one permitted to receive payment in a wrongful death suit. Trevino waived that right, giving the money to Marcus' next of kin.
Trevino is still fighting in county Juvenile Court to get custody of her two other children, who were taken by county children services last spring and remain in foster care.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
DeWine reports excuses, roadblocks and bureaucratic foot-dragging by ODJFS
Foster-parent arrests revealed
New background checks uncover 27 with accusations
Coolidge, Sharon. Coshocton Tribune, March 4, 2007.
Hamilton County court officials have discovered that 27 foster parents licensed by the county have been arrested, including one for child endangering.
Officials uncovered the arrests while implementing a background check program.
The 27 cases were detected, even though Hamilton County Job and Family Services, the agency responsible for county foster care, has allowed checks on a little less than half of the county's 750 foster parents.
The 304 parents checked this week are licensed through the county, but Hamilton County JFS refused to give Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann the names of another 445 foster parents licensed through private network agencies, said Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine.
The records, which do not list names, show 27 parents were charged with assault, domestic violence, receiving stolen property, menacing and welfare fraud among other things.
In most cases, the charges were tossed out or reduced to more minor charges. Minor charges would allow them to continue to be foster parents.
In one case, a foster father was charged with child endangering in 2001 after allegedly leaving two children, aged 7 and 2, alone in the car with closed windows cracked on a 93-degree day while he went shopping.
A conviction on that charge would have meant he could no longer be a foster parent. But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of inducing panic, allowing him to remain a foster parent. He was given probation and required to take parenting classes.
"You would think somebody at JFS would say he should not have a child," DeWine said.
Two Hamilton County children have died in foster care in the last seven years.
The agency is checking the 27 people on the list to make sure no mistakes were made inputting the names into the computer system, said Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services Director Rick Roberts.
Decisions about whether children can stay in those homes will be made on a case-by-case basis, Roberts said.
Removing a child from foster care isn't as easy as picking up a child from one home and moving him to another home, said Moira Weir, assistant Hamilton County JFS director. A Hamilton County juvenile court judge or magistrate must approve all moves, she said.
"What we have to do is figure out what is in the child's best interest," Weir said.
Checks bogged down
DeWine and Hartmann teamed up last fall to create the instant notification system after 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel died in foster care in Clermont County. Marcus's foster father had been arrested for domestic violence, a charge never seen by foster-care case workers because background checks were only done sporadically.
Although Marcus was placed in foster care by Butler County through a private agency, DeWine and Hartmann said they wanted to prevent the same thing from happening in Hamilton County.
What seems like a common-sense idea to protect children has been met with stiff resistance from the agency charged with caring for the county's most vulnerable children, Hartmann and DeWine said.
"There's been nothing but excuses, roadblocks and bureaucratic foot-dragging from Job and Family Services," DeWine said.
Hartmann called the lack of cooperation "bad judgment" on the agency's part.
"This is very frustrating," Hartmann said. "It's not my information. I can only deal with what they are willing to give me."
New background checks uncover 27 with accusations
Coolidge, Sharon. Coshocton Tribune, March 4, 2007.
Hamilton County court officials have discovered that 27 foster parents licensed by the county have been arrested, including one for child endangering.
Officials uncovered the arrests while implementing a background check program.
The 27 cases were detected, even though Hamilton County Job and Family Services, the agency responsible for county foster care, has allowed checks on a little less than half of the county's 750 foster parents.
The 304 parents checked this week are licensed through the county, but Hamilton County JFS refused to give Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann the names of another 445 foster parents licensed through private network agencies, said Hamilton County Commissioner Pat DeWine.
The records, which do not list names, show 27 parents were charged with assault, domestic violence, receiving stolen property, menacing and welfare fraud among other things.
In most cases, the charges were tossed out or reduced to more minor charges. Minor charges would allow them to continue to be foster parents.
In one case, a foster father was charged with child endangering in 2001 after allegedly leaving two children, aged 7 and 2, alone in the car with closed windows cracked on a 93-degree day while he went shopping.
A conviction on that charge would have meant he could no longer be a foster parent. But he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of inducing panic, allowing him to remain a foster parent. He was given probation and required to take parenting classes.
"You would think somebody at JFS would say he should not have a child," DeWine said.
Two Hamilton County children have died in foster care in the last seven years.
The agency is checking the 27 people on the list to make sure no mistakes were made inputting the names into the computer system, said Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services Director Rick Roberts.
Decisions about whether children can stay in those homes will be made on a case-by-case basis, Roberts said.
Removing a child from foster care isn't as easy as picking up a child from one home and moving him to another home, said Moira Weir, assistant Hamilton County JFS director. A Hamilton County juvenile court judge or magistrate must approve all moves, she said.
"What we have to do is figure out what is in the child's best interest," Weir said.
Checks bogged down
DeWine and Hartmann teamed up last fall to create the instant notification system after 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel died in foster care in Clermont County. Marcus's foster father had been arrested for domestic violence, a charge never seen by foster-care case workers because background checks were only done sporadically.
Although Marcus was placed in foster care by Butler County through a private agency, DeWine and Hartmann said they wanted to prevent the same thing from happening in Hamilton County.
What seems like a common-sense idea to protect children has been met with stiff resistance from the agency charged with caring for the county's most vulnerable children, Hartmann and DeWine said.
"There's been nothing but excuses, roadblocks and bureaucratic foot-dragging from Job and Family Services," DeWine said.
Hartmann called the lack of cooperation "bad judgment" on the agency's part.
"This is very frustrating," Hartmann said. "It's not my information. I can only deal with what they are willing to give me."
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Post-emancipaion program for foster care alumni
Foster kids get support from LCCS
Toledo Blade, March 2, 2007.
Your recent editorial, "Aging out of foster care," illuminated a real problem. Each year in Lucas County, approximately 40 young men and women turn 18 in foster care, and for them the world can be a scary place.
Lucas County Children Services was one of the first public agencies in the state to offer a post-emancipation program to the adolescents we serve. They can come back to LCCS for any assistance they need, including housing, job training, or counseling.
But we try to prepare our kids for their 18th birthday years earlier. Every foster child over the age of 15 participates in our Independent Living Program. This program focuses on life skills, how to find and maintain a living arrangement, meal preparation, job finding and keeping, finance management, and counseling for interpersonal problems or other life problems. We try to have each young person connected to an adult who can help them through the transition to young adulthood.
Nationwide, most kids aging out of foster care do not complete high school, and the same is true here. For the past two years LCCS has worked hard on a new educational initiative, working within our community and in cooperation with the school systems, to assess the particular needs of each of our kids, to assist them to succeed with their education, and to move on to higher education or vocational training. Many 18-year-olds remain in foster care to complete high school. Much more needs to be done.
All this is possible because of the financial support of Lucas County taxpayers. The federal government and the State of Ohio do little to fund these services. As a society, we need to invest much more to assist these young people or, as you noted, the cost to society will be far greater.
-GORDON R. BARRY
Chairman
Lucas County
Children Services Board
Toledo Blade, March 2, 2007.
Your recent editorial, "Aging out of foster care," illuminated a real problem. Each year in Lucas County, approximately 40 young men and women turn 18 in foster care, and for them the world can be a scary place.
Lucas County Children Services was one of the first public agencies in the state to offer a post-emancipation program to the adolescents we serve. They can come back to LCCS for any assistance they need, including housing, job training, or counseling.
But we try to prepare our kids for their 18th birthday years earlier. Every foster child over the age of 15 participates in our Independent Living Program. This program focuses on life skills, how to find and maintain a living arrangement, meal preparation, job finding and keeping, finance management, and counseling for interpersonal problems or other life problems. We try to have each young person connected to an adult who can help them through the transition to young adulthood.
Nationwide, most kids aging out of foster care do not complete high school, and the same is true here. For the past two years LCCS has worked hard on a new educational initiative, working within our community and in cooperation with the school systems, to assess the particular needs of each of our kids, to assist them to succeed with their education, and to move on to higher education or vocational training. Many 18-year-olds remain in foster care to complete high school. Much more needs to be done.
All this is possible because of the financial support of Lucas County taxpayers. The federal government and the State of Ohio do little to fund these services. As a society, we need to invest much more to assist these young people or, as you noted, the cost to society will be far greater.
-GORDON R. BARRY
Chairman
Lucas County
Children Services Board
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Plea bargain lets David off with an easier sentence than Liz Carroll
The death of a child
Cincinnati Post, Feb. 28, 2007.
In theory, David Carroll Jr.'s guilty pleas mark the end of the courtroom saga stemming from the death of three-year-old Marcus Fiesel last August.
But the way it played out Tuesday, we suspect there will long be a question about the quality of justice that was administered in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.
Carroll, to be sure, left no doubt about his role in the death of the autistic foster child who had been entrusted to his care. Under questioning by Judge Jerry McBride, Carroll acknowledged that he helped wrap Marcus in a blanket and lock him inside an upstairs closet in the Batavia home he shared with his wife, Liz Carroll, and his girlfriend, Amy Baker.
Investigators say Carroll, the two women and the Carrolls' other children drove to a family reunion in Williamstown, Ky., on Friday, Aug. 4, and didn't return until Sunday, Aug. 6. In court Tuesday, deputy prosecutor Daniel "Woody'' Breyer said that David Carroll had expressed concern about leaving Marcus behind, and that he was the one who roused the family early to return to Batavia to check on him.
But when they got back, David Carroll said, "he was gone...he was dead.''
After accepting Carroll's pleas, McBride imposed the maximum sentence, life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 16 years.
This sentence was notably lighter than the one imposed last week after Carroll's wife was convicted by a Clermont County jury of murder and six other charges stemming from Marcus' death. Liz Carroll, 30, won't be eligible for parole for 54 years. Baker, meanwhile, escaped prosecution in exchange for her testimony against the Carrolls, provided that no evidence emerges implicating her directly in Marcus' death.
We're not inclined to second guess the plea bargain offered to David Carroll. It was, as prosecutors noted, the same deal offered to Liz Carroll. The guilty plea from her husband saves the expense and uncertainty of a trial, which likely would have been moved to another part of the state because of pre-trial publicity here. And both the judge and the prosecutor said they expect David Carroll to remain in prison for far longer than 16 years. We can only hope those predictions are proven correct.
Liz and David Carroll have both insisted that Baker played a significant role in Marcus' death, and no doubt some who have followed this case closely will come away from it wondering if justice was fully served. But prosecutors told reporters they don't believe the Carrolls' assertions about Baker's role in Marcus' death and the subsequent attempt at a cover-up. And because there was so little physical evidence to help investigators sort out who did what, this was a case that relied heavily on testimony from those involved in the triangle.
If there was any good to come of this, it is the renewed attention now being given to the foster care system. The agency that placed Marcus has lost its Ohio license in the wake of his death, and state and local officials are tightening procedures to ensure the safety of foster children.
But the most hopeful development is the recognition of the need for good foster homes, and of the enormous contribution that is quietly being made, day in and day out, by the overwhelming majority of conscientious foster families. The Carrolls may have been in it for the money. But that's not what motivates most foster families. They're in it because they care, and some also because they hope someday to adopt one of those children as their own.
Judge McBride on Tuesday noted the obligation that Carroll had to do his best to protect the child who had been placed in his care. All of us, individually and as a society, have a similar obligation. If nothing else, we hope that Marcus' death will lead us all to take that responsibility to heart.
Cincinnati Post, Feb. 28, 2007.
In theory, David Carroll Jr.'s guilty pleas mark the end of the courtroom saga stemming from the death of three-year-old Marcus Fiesel last August.
But the way it played out Tuesday, we suspect there will long be a question about the quality of justice that was administered in Clermont County Common Pleas Court.
Carroll, to be sure, left no doubt about his role in the death of the autistic foster child who had been entrusted to his care. Under questioning by Judge Jerry McBride, Carroll acknowledged that he helped wrap Marcus in a blanket and lock him inside an upstairs closet in the Batavia home he shared with his wife, Liz Carroll, and his girlfriend, Amy Baker.
Investigators say Carroll, the two women and the Carrolls' other children drove to a family reunion in Williamstown, Ky., on Friday, Aug. 4, and didn't return until Sunday, Aug. 6. In court Tuesday, deputy prosecutor Daniel "Woody'' Breyer said that David Carroll had expressed concern about leaving Marcus behind, and that he was the one who roused the family early to return to Batavia to check on him.
But when they got back, David Carroll said, "he was gone...he was dead.''
After accepting Carroll's pleas, McBride imposed the maximum sentence, life in prison with no possibility of parole for at least 16 years.
This sentence was notably lighter than the one imposed last week after Carroll's wife was convicted by a Clermont County jury of murder and six other charges stemming from Marcus' death. Liz Carroll, 30, won't be eligible for parole for 54 years. Baker, meanwhile, escaped prosecution in exchange for her testimony against the Carrolls, provided that no evidence emerges implicating her directly in Marcus' death.
We're not inclined to second guess the plea bargain offered to David Carroll. It was, as prosecutors noted, the same deal offered to Liz Carroll. The guilty plea from her husband saves the expense and uncertainty of a trial, which likely would have been moved to another part of the state because of pre-trial publicity here. And both the judge and the prosecutor said they expect David Carroll to remain in prison for far longer than 16 years. We can only hope those predictions are proven correct.
Liz and David Carroll have both insisted that Baker played a significant role in Marcus' death, and no doubt some who have followed this case closely will come away from it wondering if justice was fully served. But prosecutors told reporters they don't believe the Carrolls' assertions about Baker's role in Marcus' death and the subsequent attempt at a cover-up. And because there was so little physical evidence to help investigators sort out who did what, this was a case that relied heavily on testimony from those involved in the triangle.
If there was any good to come of this, it is the renewed attention now being given to the foster care system. The agency that placed Marcus has lost its Ohio license in the wake of his death, and state and local officials are tightening procedures to ensure the safety of foster children.
But the most hopeful development is the recognition of the need for good foster homes, and of the enormous contribution that is quietly being made, day in and day out, by the overwhelming majority of conscientious foster families. The Carrolls may have been in it for the money. But that's not what motivates most foster families. They're in it because they care, and some also because they hope someday to adopt one of those children as their own.
Judge McBride on Tuesday noted the obligation that Carroll had to do his best to protect the child who had been placed in his care. All of us, individually and as a society, have a similar obligation. If nothing else, we hope that Marcus' death will lead us all to take that responsibility to heart.
86,000 Ohio grandparents are raising their grandchildren
Reaching out to children
Ross, Angel. Mansfield News Journal, Feb. 25, 2007, pg. C1.
MANSFIELD -- Eighty-six thousand Ohio grandparents are raising their grandchildren.
The statistic from the Public Children Services Association of Ohio is why Greg Kahl, communications supervisor for the Children Services Board of Richland County, said the 2nd annual Rally for the Kids was held Saturday at the Lakewood Racquet Club in Lexington.
"It's important to provide healthy enrichment opportunities for the children," Kahl said. "Most of the children here haven't played tennis before."
The Richland County Children Services Auxiliary invited area foster children, students from the Mansfield Elective Academy -- a school that specializes in children in grades K-6 from non-traditional families -- and children from the 21st Century Program at the Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
For three and a half hours, the children participated in a tennis clinic led by Lakewood Racquet Club owner Ron Schaub. They received a T-shirt, a pizza and soda lunch and also a free tennis racquet.
"Once you get a racquet, tennis is free," Kahl said. "You can go to any park and play in the summer.
"The grandparents said they appreciate the activity for the children. They can have fun in the winter and be inside burning off energy," he said.
The children also received lessons from two Lexington High School senior captains of the tennis team.
Ashley Hershner, 18, said she loves the fact that she gets to teach the children something new that they can use in their future.
"They all had the biggest smiles on their faces when they were hitting the balls," she said.
Lexi Bolesky, 18, has been playing tennis for 13 years and said she felt honored when they asked her to coach the children.
"I do want to be a coach when I grow up and work with kids," she said. "It's good to have the opportunity to work with the kids on something I love to do."
Sherman Elementary fifth-grader Kierra Ross said she liked the clinic "because you get to experience different things and it's fun."
Quincy Alexander, 10, said he hadn't played tennis before but hoped to learn "how to hit the ball pretty fast."
HOW TO HELP
You can support the Richland County Children Services Foster Parent Association by visiting CiCi's Pizza, 2156 Walker Lake Road, from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. When you order, let the cashier know you are supporting the Richland County Children Services Foster Parent Association and 10 percent of the total proceeds will be donated to the organization.
Ross, Angel. Mansfield News Journal, Feb. 25, 2007, pg. C1.
MANSFIELD -- Eighty-six thousand Ohio grandparents are raising their grandchildren.
The statistic from the Public Children Services Association of Ohio is why Greg Kahl, communications supervisor for the Children Services Board of Richland County, said the 2nd annual Rally for the Kids was held Saturday at the Lakewood Racquet Club in Lexington.
"It's important to provide healthy enrichment opportunities for the children," Kahl said. "Most of the children here haven't played tennis before."
The Richland County Children Services Auxiliary invited area foster children, students from the Mansfield Elective Academy -- a school that specializes in children in grades K-6 from non-traditional families -- and children from the 21st Century Program at the Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
For three and a half hours, the children participated in a tennis clinic led by Lakewood Racquet Club owner Ron Schaub. They received a T-shirt, a pizza and soda lunch and also a free tennis racquet.
"Once you get a racquet, tennis is free," Kahl said. "You can go to any park and play in the summer.
"The grandparents said they appreciate the activity for the children. They can have fun in the winter and be inside burning off energy," he said.
The children also received lessons from two Lexington High School senior captains of the tennis team.
Ashley Hershner, 18, said she loves the fact that she gets to teach the children something new that they can use in their future.
"They all had the biggest smiles on their faces when they were hitting the balls," she said.
Lexi Bolesky, 18, has been playing tennis for 13 years and said she felt honored when they asked her to coach the children.
"I do want to be a coach when I grow up and work with kids," she said. "It's good to have the opportunity to work with the kids on something I love to do."
Sherman Elementary fifth-grader Kierra Ross said she liked the clinic "because you get to experience different things and it's fun."
Quincy Alexander, 10, said he hadn't played tennis before but hoped to learn "how to hit the ball pretty fast."
HOW TO HELP
You can support the Richland County Children Services Foster Parent Association by visiting CiCi's Pizza, 2156 Walker Lake Road, from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. When you order, let the cashier know you are supporting the Richland County Children Services Foster Parent Association and 10 percent of the total proceeds will be donated to the organization.
Who will care for the Carroll's biological children?
Editorial: The Marcus case
Ramsey, Krista. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 26, 2007, pg. B6.
With Liz Carroll found guilty, David Carroll to go on trial in March and God only knows the justice that will be served to Amy Baker, there are four other young victims of the Marcus Fiesel tragedy that are almost totally being forgotten: the Carrolls' own children.
Placed into foster care themselves, they have become invisible. Though we all hope and pray that they are being far better cared for than young Marcus, Liz and David must feel some sense of turmoil and irony. Maybe it is time for the family of Liz and David to take some constructive actions to protect and care for the remaining victims.
By Shakila Ahmad
Ramsey, Krista. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 26, 2007, pg. B6.
With Liz Carroll found guilty, David Carroll to go on trial in March and God only knows the justice that will be served to Amy Baker, there are four other young victims of the Marcus Fiesel tragedy that are almost totally being forgotten: the Carrolls' own children.
Placed into foster care themselves, they have become invisible. Though we all hope and pray that they are being far better cared for than young Marcus, Liz and David must feel some sense of turmoil and irony. Maybe it is time for the family of Liz and David to take some constructive actions to protect and care for the remaining victims.
By Shakila Ahmad
Monday, February 26, 2007
Butler Co. Children Services employees report agency's failings
Staff survey criticizes Butler children agency
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B5.
Butler County Children Services workers gave their agency dismal marks in a survey presented Thursday night.Workers painted a picture of a badly run organization plagued with mistrust and confusion. More than half questioned the agency's integrity.
A third said the agency shortchanges the children it is supposed to serve. Forty percent said biological families are underserved.
The survey was conducted by FountainWorks marketing and policy consultants on behalf of a special task force that is weighing the agency's future. About half the agency's staff took the survey, which was voluntary.
The agency contracted with a placement service that put Marcus Fiesel into the home of Liz and David Carroll Jr., where he died.
The agency's director, Jann Heffner, resigned her $125,000-a-year job this month.
In response to the survey, the Butler County Children Services Board issued a letter from University of Cincinnati research expert Sourushe Zandvakili that criticized the survey as unscientific and unreliable. Zandvakili instead recommended a retreat "where all stakeholders are represented" to address the agency's problems.
Unmanageable workloads and an oversupply of supervisors were common complaints in the FountainWorks results.
County Commissioner Mike Fox called the survey "the last straw" for the board that oversees the agency. "It's time to drain the swamp," he said.
Fox was incensed that the agency refused to provide contact information so FountainWorks could survey foster children and foster families.
"They can play the privacy card all day long," Fox said, "but the law gives them the flexibility to bring in consultants to interview their customers. To me, not wanting to know what your children have to say is a fatal indictment.
"If Marcus Fiesel's death is not enough to light a fire under the board and agency management to get opinions from the children they care for, they've abdicated their right to govern anything."
The task force also heard a report Thursday from John Steinbach of JP Consultants Inc., who interviewed workers, board members and others about what would make the agency work better.
While his aim was to find positive ideas, he did note that he heard "stories of an abusive organization" and "examples of wonderfully dedicated employees working in almost impossible situations."
McGurk, Margaret. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B5.
Butler County Children Services workers gave their agency dismal marks in a survey presented Thursday night.Workers painted a picture of a badly run organization plagued with mistrust and confusion. More than half questioned the agency's integrity.
A third said the agency shortchanges the children it is supposed to serve. Forty percent said biological families are underserved.
The survey was conducted by FountainWorks marketing and policy consultants on behalf of a special task force that is weighing the agency's future. About half the agency's staff took the survey, which was voluntary.
The agency contracted with a placement service that put Marcus Fiesel into the home of Liz and David Carroll Jr., where he died.
The agency's director, Jann Heffner, resigned her $125,000-a-year job this month.
In response to the survey, the Butler County Children Services Board issued a letter from University of Cincinnati research expert Sourushe Zandvakili that criticized the survey as unscientific and unreliable. Zandvakili instead recommended a retreat "where all stakeholders are represented" to address the agency's problems.
Unmanageable workloads and an oversupply of supervisors were common complaints in the FountainWorks results.
County Commissioner Mike Fox called the survey "the last straw" for the board that oversees the agency. "It's time to drain the swamp," he said.
Fox was incensed that the agency refused to provide contact information so FountainWorks could survey foster children and foster families.
"They can play the privacy card all day long," Fox said, "but the law gives them the flexibility to bring in consultants to interview their customers. To me, not wanting to know what your children have to say is a fatal indictment.
"If Marcus Fiesel's death is not enough to light a fire under the board and agency management to get opinions from the children they care for, they've abdicated their right to govern anything."
The task force also heard a report Thursday from John Steinbach of JP Consultants Inc., who interviewed workers, board members and others about what would make the agency work better.
While his aim was to find positive ideas, he did note that he heard "stories of an abusive organization" and "examples of wonderfully dedicated employees working in almost impossible situations."
Adopt Cuyahoga's Kids
County expands adoption efforts
Older children are harder to place
Mazzolini, Joan. Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B3.
The number of Cuyahoga County children available for adoption has dropped by more than half in the last six years, but those still looking for permanent homes are older and harder to place.
As a result, commissioners on Thursday agreed to spend nearly $1.8 million this year to expand a coordinated effort, called Adopt Cuyahoga's Kids, to find homes for the 916 children in permanent county custody.
The children, who are placed in county custody because of parental abuse or neglect, end up in foster care, group homes or with relatives on a temporary basis.
Cuyahoga County, the United Way and other local groups launched the program three years ago, targeting 656 kids who were 10 or older and who had been in the county's permanent custody for more than a year.
Coordinated by Adoption Network Cleveland, 14 adoption agencies researched the children's pasts in search of potential parents, such as distant relatives, teachers, coaches and other adults who had passed through the children's lives.
In addition to finding families for children, the Adopt Cuyahoga's Kids program helps guide prospective parents through the adoption process.
More than 300 of the children were adopted, but hundreds of others are still waiting. And some children turned 18 and left the system without being adopted.
"Sixty-seven percent of the kids are 9 years or older," said Jim McCafferty, director of the county's Children and Family services. McCafferty told the commissioners Thursday that the older children are much harder to place, with many families preferring infants or toddlers.
McCafferty said the program has drawn national and state attention.
"It's expensive, it's time-consuming," he said, "but it works."
At the same time, the county is working to keep families together.
The commissioners also voted to pay more than $900,000 to Beech Brook, a mental-health and treatment center in Pepper Pike, to work toward reuniting families and their children.
However, the cases are particularly difficult and the agency also works toward finding alternative families if a reunion seems unlikely.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmazzolini@plaind.com, 216-999-4563
Author: Joan Mazzolini
Section: Metro
Page: B3
Older children are harder to place
Mazzolini, Joan. Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B3.
The number of Cuyahoga County children available for adoption has dropped by more than half in the last six years, but those still looking for permanent homes are older and harder to place.
As a result, commissioners on Thursday agreed to spend nearly $1.8 million this year to expand a coordinated effort, called Adopt Cuyahoga's Kids, to find homes for the 916 children in permanent county custody.
The children, who are placed in county custody because of parental abuse or neglect, end up in foster care, group homes or with relatives on a temporary basis.
Cuyahoga County, the United Way and other local groups launched the program three years ago, targeting 656 kids who were 10 or older and who had been in the county's permanent custody for more than a year.
Coordinated by Adoption Network Cleveland, 14 adoption agencies researched the children's pasts in search of potential parents, such as distant relatives, teachers, coaches and other adults who had passed through the children's lives.
In addition to finding families for children, the Adopt Cuyahoga's Kids program helps guide prospective parents through the adoption process.
More than 300 of the children were adopted, but hundreds of others are still waiting. And some children turned 18 and left the system without being adopted.
"Sixty-seven percent of the kids are 9 years or older," said Jim McCafferty, director of the county's Children and Family services. McCafferty told the commissioners Thursday that the older children are much harder to place, with many families preferring infants or toddlers.
McCafferty said the program has drawn national and state attention.
"It's expensive, it's time-consuming," he said, "but it works."
At the same time, the county is working to keep families together.
The commissioners also voted to pay more than $900,000 to Beech Brook, a mental-health and treatment center in Pepper Pike, to work toward reuniting families and their children.
However, the cases are particularly difficult and the agency also works toward finding alternative families if a reunion seems unlikely.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jmazzolini@plaind.com, 216-999-4563
Author: Joan Mazzolini
Section: Metro
Page: B3
Liz Carroll will be 84 years old before being eligible for parole
Carroll says she's no killer
Defense portrait of good mom, meek wife, fails
Brunsman, Barrett and Eileen Kelley, Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B1.
BATAVIA - Liz Carroll apologized for the lies that prompted about 2,000 people to hunt for the 3-year-old foster son she claimed was missing, but she still denies killing Marcus Fiesel.
"I didn't do this to Marcus," Carroll said before being sentenced to prison Thursday by Judge Robert Ringland. "I didn't, and I wouldn't, hurt a child.
"I did lie after (the death of Marcus) to try to protect my family," Carroll said. "And I'm sorry. I want to apologize to the community, my family."
Ringland was unmoved.
Carroll, 30, will spend at least 54 years in prison - and perhaps the rest of her life - based on sentences for murder and five other offenses.
She will be 84 years old before being eligible for parole.
On Wednesday, she was found guilty of murder by a jury in the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas.
On Thursday, she again implied that her former live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, was responsible for Marcus' death.
"I'm sorry for the lies," Carroll said. "And I just hope that some day the truth can come out because Amy Baker does not speak the truth."
Ringland said Carroll was to blame. "The character and the acts of the people who lived with you do not take away in any fashion what you have done," he said. "I also note that throughout this entire episode there has never been a sincere concern for Marcus Fiesel.
"Even to this day, your only remorse is that you are being found guilty and not for the death of this child," Ringland said.
Before sentencing, Ringland said he was surprised that The Enquirer had run the names of the jurors in Thursday's paper.
"I am somewhat perplexed and a little disappointed that I read that the names of the jurors were published this morning in The Enquirer. I realize there's a First Amendment right - and I realize that it's almost an unfettered right - but frankly, people, what purpose does this serve?"
Enquirer editor and vice president Tom Callinan said more than 30 readers canceled their subscriptions.
"Of course we don't routinely report this level of detail, but the overriding public interest in this case caused us to consider a rare exception," Callinan said.
Prosecutors said Marcus was bound in a blanket with packing tape and left in the closet of Liz and David Carroll Jr.'s home in Union Township the weekend of Aug. 4.
When they returned Aug. 6 from a family reunion in Grant County, Ky., the boy was dead, Baker testified during Liz Carroll's trial.
Baker accompanied the Carrolls on the trip, along with the couple's four children and the family dog.
"The dog was alive," Liz Carroll interjected during closing arguments Wednesday, implying that Marcus was left behind because he wasn't.
Liz Carroll had told The Enquirer that Baker killed Marcus Aug. 4.
Clermont County Assistant Prosecutor Daniel "Woody" Breyer asked the judge to impose the stiffest sentences possible.
"This is the most offensive and heinous crime that I can recall being involved in - in my 30 years as a lawyer - and I believe that a maximum consecutive sentence would be appropriate," Breyer said.
The judge sentenced Carroll to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years on the murder charge. The judge considered the murder and involuntary manslaughter charges as a bundle when imposing the sentences.
Carroll must also serve - consecutively -- a 10-year sentence for kidnapping, another eight years for felonious assault and 21 years total on three child endangering charges.
She will be imprisoned at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, northwest of Columbus.
Her attorney, Gregory Cohen, asked the judge to consider that Carroll's husband was abusive. "This is not a monster standing here next to me," he told the judge. "This is a well-liked, well-loved woman who made a horrendous error in judgment" - including her choice of a husband.
"Nobody can come in here and say that she, but for this instance, is a bad mother," Cohen said. "She loves children. She wanted to be around children all the time.
"She was unable to control the situation, and then once unable to control it found herself in a whirlpool that took her down," he said.
Breyer responded that Carroll was far from a good mother.
That would have come out under cross examination by prosecutors if Carroll had taken the witness stand to testify in her own defense, Breyer said.
If Carroll had claimed to be a good mother, Breyer said, he would have called as a witness the psychologist who evaluated her to determine whether she was competent to stand trial.
Carroll had told the psychologist "that she has taped her own kids up for fun," Breyer said.
When the four Carroll children were placed in foster care after the Aug. 28 arrest of their parents, some of them shared tales of abuse, Breyer said.
The oldest child, who is about 7, said Marcus's hands were taped behind his back almost every day by David Carroll Jr. to prevent the developmentally delayed boy from smearing his excrement around the house.
But Marcus wasn't the only one who was taped, Breyer said.
"The Carroll child had his hands taped up by his dad over something with regard to football," Breyer said.
In court Thursday, Liz Carroll didn't respond to those allegations.
She seemed to suggest the only harm to them came from concocting the hoax that Marcus had wandered off in an Anderson Township park on Aug. 15. "I know now I have mentally hurt my own children by my own lies," she said.
Breyer also disputed Cohen's statement that Liz Carroll's home life was shattered when David Carroll invited Baker to live there.
Before that, two other women shared the house with the Carrolls, Breyer said. One, who became a baby sitter for the couple at age 17, engaged in a sexual relationship with David Carroll in front of his wife.
Breyer also discounted Liz Carroll's claim that she was distraught to find Marcus dead at the hands of Baker on Aug. 4.
Police had evidence that Carroll sold Xanax - a prescription anti-anxiety drug - to friends that evening.
"As they left to go to the reunion, they stopped down the street and Liz sold 25 of her Xanax to a friend," Breyer said.
Union Township police have taped statements from that person and his live-in girlfriend that they bought 25 Xanax pills from Carroll on Aug.4 - and made other drug buys from her at least 20 times, Breyer said.
"Mr. Breyer wasn't telling the truth about everything," Liz Carroll said in response. "A lot of that stuff was allegations, people saying stuff, like the pills."
Carroll wore an orange jail uniform with her hands cuffed and feet shackled when brought into the courtroom at 11:30 a.m. Thursday for sentencing.
During the trial, she wore dark pantsuits that hid a security leg brace from the sight of jurors.
Her mother, Audrey Sims, who became hysterical Wednesday when her daughter was found guilty of all seven charges, was composed during sentencing.
"I'm OK," she said after leaving the courtroom. "I believe in her."
Sims said she is confident her daughter will win an appeal.
But the judge's stern sentencing left David Carroll's mother in tears Thursday. His murder trial is to begin March 19.
Debbie Hounshell said her son told her he wasn't willing to make a plea deal with prosecutors.
If David Carroll agreed to plead guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse, Clermont County Prosecutor Don White and Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters had been willing to drop all other charges against him.
He faces the same charges in Clermont County that Liz Carroll was convicted of, as well as inducing panic and raising false alarms in Hamilton County.
The deadline to accept the deal was Thursday, but David Carroll's defense attorney said she would seek an extension from White and Judge Jerry R. McBride.
Attorney Cathy Adams said David Carroll was upset by the murder conviction of Liz Carroll and might need until next week to reconsider the plea bargain.
David Carroll, 29, "was going to fight" the charges "for the both of them because he didn't do it," Hounshell said of her son
"He kept saying, 'They are taking my complete sunshine away,' and 'I cannot believe this is happening.' "
Defense portrait of good mom, meek wife, fails
Brunsman, Barrett and Eileen Kelley, Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 23, 2007, pg. B1.
BATAVIA - Liz Carroll apologized for the lies that prompted about 2,000 people to hunt for the 3-year-old foster son she claimed was missing, but she still denies killing Marcus Fiesel.
"I didn't do this to Marcus," Carroll said before being sentenced to prison Thursday by Judge Robert Ringland. "I didn't, and I wouldn't, hurt a child.
"I did lie after (the death of Marcus) to try to protect my family," Carroll said. "And I'm sorry. I want to apologize to the community, my family."
Ringland was unmoved.
Carroll, 30, will spend at least 54 years in prison - and perhaps the rest of her life - based on sentences for murder and five other offenses.
She will be 84 years old before being eligible for parole.
On Wednesday, she was found guilty of murder by a jury in the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas.
On Thursday, she again implied that her former live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, was responsible for Marcus' death.
"I'm sorry for the lies," Carroll said. "And I just hope that some day the truth can come out because Amy Baker does not speak the truth."
Ringland said Carroll was to blame. "The character and the acts of the people who lived with you do not take away in any fashion what you have done," he said. "I also note that throughout this entire episode there has never been a sincere concern for Marcus Fiesel.
"Even to this day, your only remorse is that you are being found guilty and not for the death of this child," Ringland said.
Before sentencing, Ringland said he was surprised that The Enquirer had run the names of the jurors in Thursday's paper.
"I am somewhat perplexed and a little disappointed that I read that the names of the jurors were published this morning in The Enquirer. I realize there's a First Amendment right - and I realize that it's almost an unfettered right - but frankly, people, what purpose does this serve?"
Enquirer editor and vice president Tom Callinan said more than 30 readers canceled their subscriptions.
"Of course we don't routinely report this level of detail, but the overriding public interest in this case caused us to consider a rare exception," Callinan said.
Prosecutors said Marcus was bound in a blanket with packing tape and left in the closet of Liz and David Carroll Jr.'s home in Union Township the weekend of Aug. 4.
When they returned Aug. 6 from a family reunion in Grant County, Ky., the boy was dead, Baker testified during Liz Carroll's trial.
Baker accompanied the Carrolls on the trip, along with the couple's four children and the family dog.
"The dog was alive," Liz Carroll interjected during closing arguments Wednesday, implying that Marcus was left behind because he wasn't.
Liz Carroll had told The Enquirer that Baker killed Marcus Aug. 4.
Clermont County Assistant Prosecutor Daniel "Woody" Breyer asked the judge to impose the stiffest sentences possible.
"This is the most offensive and heinous crime that I can recall being involved in - in my 30 years as a lawyer - and I believe that a maximum consecutive sentence would be appropriate," Breyer said.
The judge sentenced Carroll to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years on the murder charge. The judge considered the murder and involuntary manslaughter charges as a bundle when imposing the sentences.
Carroll must also serve - consecutively -- a 10-year sentence for kidnapping, another eight years for felonious assault and 21 years total on three child endangering charges.
She will be imprisoned at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, northwest of Columbus.
Her attorney, Gregory Cohen, asked the judge to consider that Carroll's husband was abusive. "This is not a monster standing here next to me," he told the judge. "This is a well-liked, well-loved woman who made a horrendous error in judgment" - including her choice of a husband.
"Nobody can come in here and say that she, but for this instance, is a bad mother," Cohen said. "She loves children. She wanted to be around children all the time.
"She was unable to control the situation, and then once unable to control it found herself in a whirlpool that took her down," he said.
Breyer responded that Carroll was far from a good mother.
That would have come out under cross examination by prosecutors if Carroll had taken the witness stand to testify in her own defense, Breyer said.
If Carroll had claimed to be a good mother, Breyer said, he would have called as a witness the psychologist who evaluated her to determine whether she was competent to stand trial.
Carroll had told the psychologist "that she has taped her own kids up for fun," Breyer said.
When the four Carroll children were placed in foster care after the Aug. 28 arrest of their parents, some of them shared tales of abuse, Breyer said.
The oldest child, who is about 7, said Marcus's hands were taped behind his back almost every day by David Carroll Jr. to prevent the developmentally delayed boy from smearing his excrement around the house.
But Marcus wasn't the only one who was taped, Breyer said.
"The Carroll child had his hands taped up by his dad over something with regard to football," Breyer said.
In court Thursday, Liz Carroll didn't respond to those allegations.
She seemed to suggest the only harm to them came from concocting the hoax that Marcus had wandered off in an Anderson Township park on Aug. 15. "I know now I have mentally hurt my own children by my own lies," she said.
Breyer also disputed Cohen's statement that Liz Carroll's home life was shattered when David Carroll invited Baker to live there.
Before that, two other women shared the house with the Carrolls, Breyer said. One, who became a baby sitter for the couple at age 17, engaged in a sexual relationship with David Carroll in front of his wife.
Breyer also discounted Liz Carroll's claim that she was distraught to find Marcus dead at the hands of Baker on Aug. 4.
Police had evidence that Carroll sold Xanax - a prescription anti-anxiety drug - to friends that evening.
"As they left to go to the reunion, they stopped down the street and Liz sold 25 of her Xanax to a friend," Breyer said.
Union Township police have taped statements from that person and his live-in girlfriend that they bought 25 Xanax pills from Carroll on Aug.4 - and made other drug buys from her at least 20 times, Breyer said.
"Mr. Breyer wasn't telling the truth about everything," Liz Carroll said in response. "A lot of that stuff was allegations, people saying stuff, like the pills."
Carroll wore an orange jail uniform with her hands cuffed and feet shackled when brought into the courtroom at 11:30 a.m. Thursday for sentencing.
During the trial, she wore dark pantsuits that hid a security leg brace from the sight of jurors.
Her mother, Audrey Sims, who became hysterical Wednesday when her daughter was found guilty of all seven charges, was composed during sentencing.
"I'm OK," she said after leaving the courtroom. "I believe in her."
Sims said she is confident her daughter will win an appeal.
But the judge's stern sentencing left David Carroll's mother in tears Thursday. His murder trial is to begin March 19.
Debbie Hounshell said her son told her he wasn't willing to make a plea deal with prosecutors.
If David Carroll agreed to plead guilty to murder and gross abuse of a corpse, Clermont County Prosecutor Don White and Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters had been willing to drop all other charges against him.
He faces the same charges in Clermont County that Liz Carroll was convicted of, as well as inducing panic and raising false alarms in Hamilton County.
The deadline to accept the deal was Thursday, but David Carroll's defense attorney said she would seek an extension from White and Judge Jerry R. McBride.
Attorney Cathy Adams said David Carroll was upset by the murder conviction of Liz Carroll and might need until next week to reconsider the plea bargain.
David Carroll, 29, "was going to fight" the charges "for the both of them because he didn't do it," Hounshell said of her son
"He kept saying, 'They are taking my complete sunshine away,' and 'I cannot believe this is happening.' "
Last minute editing decision causes reluctant jurors for David Carroll's trial, and a lighter sentence for him
Editorial: Publishing names of jurors was wrong
Callinan, Tom. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 24, 2007, pg. B7.
I apologize.
To the citizens who served on the jury in the trial of Liz Carroll, who was convicted of murder and six other charges in the death of foster child Marcus Fiesel.
To Judge Robert P. Ringland, who presided over the case in Clermont County Court of Common Pleas.
To our readers:
The Enquirer on Thursday published the names of the nine women and three men who served on the jury. It was a late-night, deadline decision that simply was wrong. It was a mistake that could cause harm to those citizens. It had the potential to harm the judicial process. There is no doubt that it harmed the trust you have in The Enquirer.
Yes, the names, ages and occupations of jurors are a public record, and there's good reason for that. We want a system that allows us to know who is judging us. We want a system that allows us to watch out for age, gender or racial bias. I don't think the strong reaction we have seen from readers, including some on this page, is a mandate that the jury process should be shrouded in secrecy. Indeed, when this column was posted on our Web site Friday, many online comments were that The Enquirer should have stuck by its decision.
Even an angry Judge Ringland acknowledged from the bench that The Enquirer had an unfettered right to publish the names. But the names were not essential in our wish to convey the makeup of the jury. It is interesting and not irrelevant that a power company lineman, restaurant server and psychiatric nurse are among those entrusted such an awesome and important responsibility. Certainly, jurors bring those life experiences to the process. But it's not necessary to publish their names.
It is not unusual for us to quote jurors who are willing to talk with us when a trial ends. Their voices give us insights into their world. That was the case when a neighbor of one of our columnists willingly talked with him for a Friday story, in which she said:
"I never want to be in that position again. It was an overwhelming, all-consuming sadness . It wasn't about convicting her. It was about doing right by him."
The difference is that this juror and others willingly came forward to share their stories.
So how did the decision to publish the list of the jurors' names happen? All I can say is that we lost our perspective. In being aggressive on a big story we rushed to a very bad decision. The case of the blue-eyed 3-year-old, who was bound, abandoned and then incinerated in a chimney captivated the attention of our community. The horrific story galvanized Ohio and prompted calls for reform, including a 30-member task force to investigate foster care and legislation strengthening child welfare laws. It has attracted national attention, including a recent series on National Public Radio.
Some of us at The Enquirer got caught up in all that and made a serious mistake. You should know that others argued against the decision. They should have prevailed, and we are reviewing our decision-making policies.
There are times when circumstances may dictate an exception should be made in our usual practice. There may be specific stories when it is in the public interest to publish the names of juveniles, rape victims or jurors. Those exceptions are rare, and this should not have been one of them.
-Tom Callinan is editor and vice president of The Enquirer
Callinan, Tom. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 24, 2007, pg. B7.
I apologize.
To the citizens who served on the jury in the trial of Liz Carroll, who was convicted of murder and six other charges in the death of foster child Marcus Fiesel.
To Judge Robert P. Ringland, who presided over the case in Clermont County Court of Common Pleas.
To our readers:
The Enquirer on Thursday published the names of the nine women and three men who served on the jury. It was a late-night, deadline decision that simply was wrong. It was a mistake that could cause harm to those citizens. It had the potential to harm the judicial process. There is no doubt that it harmed the trust you have in The Enquirer.
Yes, the names, ages and occupations of jurors are a public record, and there's good reason for that. We want a system that allows us to know who is judging us. We want a system that allows us to watch out for age, gender or racial bias. I don't think the strong reaction we have seen from readers, including some on this page, is a mandate that the jury process should be shrouded in secrecy. Indeed, when this column was posted on our Web site Friday, many online comments were that The Enquirer should have stuck by its decision.
Even an angry Judge Ringland acknowledged from the bench that The Enquirer had an unfettered right to publish the names. But the names were not essential in our wish to convey the makeup of the jury. It is interesting and not irrelevant that a power company lineman, restaurant server and psychiatric nurse are among those entrusted such an awesome and important responsibility. Certainly, jurors bring those life experiences to the process. But it's not necessary to publish their names.
It is not unusual for us to quote jurors who are willing to talk with us when a trial ends. Their voices give us insights into their world. That was the case when a neighbor of one of our columnists willingly talked with him for a Friday story, in which she said:
"I never want to be in that position again. It was an overwhelming, all-consuming sadness . It wasn't about convicting her. It was about doing right by him."
The difference is that this juror and others willingly came forward to share their stories.
So how did the decision to publish the list of the jurors' names happen? All I can say is that we lost our perspective. In being aggressive on a big story we rushed to a very bad decision. The case of the blue-eyed 3-year-old, who was bound, abandoned and then incinerated in a chimney captivated the attention of our community. The horrific story galvanized Ohio and prompted calls for reform, including a 30-member task force to investigate foster care and legislation strengthening child welfare laws. It has attracted national attention, including a recent series on National Public Radio.
Some of us at The Enquirer got caught up in all that and made a serious mistake. You should know that others argued against the decision. They should have prevailed, and we are reviewing our decision-making policies.
There are times when circumstances may dictate an exception should be made in our usual practice. There may be specific stories when it is in the public interest to publish the names of juveniles, rape victims or jurors. Those exceptions are rare, and this should not have been one of them.
-Tom Callinan is editor and vice president of The Enquirer
Donna Trevino perpetuated the cycle of neglect and abuse
Marcus' mother wants kids back
Says she's trying to redirect her life
Kelley, Eileen. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 24, 2007, pg. B1.
Donna Trevino wrapped her hands around a tissue as she talked about the little boy she gave away.
He was beautiful. He had striking blue eyes. He was full of life.
But he was too much for her. And now he's dead.
Marcus Fiesel's mother, 38, cries easily when she recounts the life she had with her 3-year-old son.
"I played ball with him. I played patty-cake," the Middletown woman said Friday in her first interview since Liz Carroll's murder conviction.
A judge sentenced Carroll Thursday to 54 years in prison for causing the boy's death. She and her husband, David Carroll Jr., were his foster parents.
Trevino is satisfied with the sentence.
She said she thought when she surrendered Marcus in April he would go to a better place. "What they did was cold and heartless," she said.
Less than four months after she told police and children's services Marcus was too much for her to handle, he was dead.
Trevino cried, looked stern and wrapped her arms around herself when she looked back at her own childhood - one she said forced her to run away from home at age 13.
"It was torture," she said of the physical, sexual, emotional and verbal abuse she said she suffered as a child.
She said her father, who adopted her when she was 1, would tuck money into the hands of child protective workers who came to check on her as a child.
They would go away.
"It was just terrible. The counselors say I will never forget it and you know what, they are right. I won't forget it."
Out on the streets as a teen, Trevino won't say how she survived; only that she did.
After her first child was born - one whom she hasn't seen in more than a decade - she said she vowed to get her life together.
Abuse and on-and-off homelessness followed her.
Most of the men in Trevino's life, including the fathers of her four children, she said, beat her. She had three boys and a little girl.
She lost custody of Marcus 10 months ago after he was found wandering on a Middletown street. Her 19-month-old daughter and 11-year-old son are in foster care.
She agreed to have them taken away, a decision she struggles with. "I didn't want my kids to see anything like what I saw," she said. "That's a lot, what I saw."
Trevino was living in a Middletown homeless shelter when Marcus was born.
Not long after his first breath, she said she knew something was wrong. As a baby, he cried constantly. As a toddler, he never wanted to stop running.
"I was out of my league with Marcus," she said. "I really didn't know what to do with him. I loved him to death and I know one thing, I never would have done what the Carrolls did. Never, not in a million years."
Not long after it was discovered that Marcus was dead, Trevino filed a lawsuit against Lifeway for Youth, the private foster care agency that placed Marcus. Also named in the suit were the Carrolls, their live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, and various Butler County agencies.
The lawsuit opened Trevino up for criticism. Public opinion seared her, saying the woman who gave up her child was trying to profit from the tragedy.
"If she had paid half as much attention to Marcus before as she is now, she wouldn't be in this situation," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters after the arrest of the Carrolls.
Just last week she was followed into a Kmart.
"How could you raise children in such filth?" a stranger blurted out, according to Trevino. It wasn't the first insult she'd heard from strangers.
Trevino says she doesn't fight back.
"If you haven't been in that situation, how can they judge you?" she asks. "I think the judging needs to stop until you have walked (in my) shoes."
Butler County has since been dropped from the suit although, she says, it didn't give her the help she needed to raise Marcus, who was developmentally delayed, and her other two children.
The $207,000 settlement deal with Lifeway is expected to be reviewed by a Butler County probate judge Tuesday.
If it's approved, up to $800 a month would go to the care of Marcus' older brother and younger sister.
Trevino is working with children services to get two of her children back. If she does, the money would follow them and she would be able to use it for rent and other household necessities for them. The oldest child, she said, was taken to Alaska by his father years ago.
What she wants is to give her children a better chance than she had.
Trevino left her childhood home in Indiana and landed in South Carolina as a young girl. "I was just trying to get away from my dad - as far away as I could," she said.
Growing up, she took classes with other children who are learning disabled. In the 11th grade she said she gave up.
"I can't read," she said.
The names her father called her stung, she said. "He used to tell me I was worthless and that my life would amount to nothing and it (sank) in after a while. You get in that mind frame and it's like, 'OK, I'm not worth anything, why try?' "
She said she has been free of abusive men for more than a year.
But life is still rocky. She has moved around a lot in the last few months and said she is trying to find a suitable home so she can bring Marcus' older brother and younger sister home one day.
"It's just a loss. It's just like a part of my heart is tore up and I'm never going to get it back," she said of Marcus' death. "And there is nothing I can do about it. It's just an emptiness that I think I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life."
Donna Trevino says she grew up in an abusive home, ran away at a young age and had four children. One lives with his father; Marcus was killed; and two are in foster care.
Says she's trying to redirect her life
Kelley, Eileen. Cincinnati Enquirer, Feb. 24, 2007, pg. B1.
Donna Trevino wrapped her hands around a tissue as she talked about the little boy she gave away.
He was beautiful. He had striking blue eyes. He was full of life.
But he was too much for her. And now he's dead.
Marcus Fiesel's mother, 38, cries easily when she recounts the life she had with her 3-year-old son.
"I played ball with him. I played patty-cake," the Middletown woman said Friday in her first interview since Liz Carroll's murder conviction.
A judge sentenced Carroll Thursday to 54 years in prison for causing the boy's death. She and her husband, David Carroll Jr., were his foster parents.
Trevino is satisfied with the sentence.
She said she thought when she surrendered Marcus in April he would go to a better place. "What they did was cold and heartless," she said.
Less than four months after she told police and children's services Marcus was too much for her to handle, he was dead.
Trevino cried, looked stern and wrapped her arms around herself when she looked back at her own childhood - one she said forced her to run away from home at age 13.
"It was torture," she said of the physical, sexual, emotional and verbal abuse she said she suffered as a child.
She said her father, who adopted her when she was 1, would tuck money into the hands of child protective workers who came to check on her as a child.
They would go away.
"It was just terrible. The counselors say I will never forget it and you know what, they are right. I won't forget it."
Out on the streets as a teen, Trevino won't say how she survived; only that she did.
After her first child was born - one whom she hasn't seen in more than a decade - she said she vowed to get her life together.
Abuse and on-and-off homelessness followed her.
Most of the men in Trevino's life, including the fathers of her four children, she said, beat her. She had three boys and a little girl.
She lost custody of Marcus 10 months ago after he was found wandering on a Middletown street. Her 19-month-old daughter and 11-year-old son are in foster care.
She agreed to have them taken away, a decision she struggles with. "I didn't want my kids to see anything like what I saw," she said. "That's a lot, what I saw."
Trevino was living in a Middletown homeless shelter when Marcus was born.
Not long after his first breath, she said she knew something was wrong. As a baby, he cried constantly. As a toddler, he never wanted to stop running.
"I was out of my league with Marcus," she said. "I really didn't know what to do with him. I loved him to death and I know one thing, I never would have done what the Carrolls did. Never, not in a million years."
Not long after it was discovered that Marcus was dead, Trevino filed a lawsuit against Lifeway for Youth, the private foster care agency that placed Marcus. Also named in the suit were the Carrolls, their live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker, and various Butler County agencies.
The lawsuit opened Trevino up for criticism. Public opinion seared her, saying the woman who gave up her child was trying to profit from the tragedy.
"If she had paid half as much attention to Marcus before as she is now, she wouldn't be in this situation," said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters after the arrest of the Carrolls.
Just last week she was followed into a Kmart.
"How could you raise children in such filth?" a stranger blurted out, according to Trevino. It wasn't the first insult she'd heard from strangers.
Trevino says she doesn't fight back.
"If you haven't been in that situation, how can they judge you?" she asks. "I think the judging needs to stop until you have walked (in my) shoes."
Butler County has since been dropped from the suit although, she says, it didn't give her the help she needed to raise Marcus, who was developmentally delayed, and her other two children.
The $207,000 settlement deal with Lifeway is expected to be reviewed by a Butler County probate judge Tuesday.
If it's approved, up to $800 a month would go to the care of Marcus' older brother and younger sister.
Trevino is working with children services to get two of her children back. If she does, the money would follow them and she would be able to use it for rent and other household necessities for them. The oldest child, she said, was taken to Alaska by his father years ago.
What she wants is to give her children a better chance than she had.
Trevino left her childhood home in Indiana and landed in South Carolina as a young girl. "I was just trying to get away from my dad - as far away as I could," she said.
Growing up, she took classes with other children who are learning disabled. In the 11th grade she said she gave up.
"I can't read," she said.
The names her father called her stung, she said. "He used to tell me I was worthless and that my life would amount to nothing and it (sank) in after a while. You get in that mind frame and it's like, 'OK, I'm not worth anything, why try?' "
She said she has been free of abusive men for more than a year.
But life is still rocky. She has moved around a lot in the last few months and said she is trying to find a suitable home so she can bring Marcus' older brother and younger sister home one day.
"It's just a loss. It's just like a part of my heart is tore up and I'm never going to get it back," she said of Marcus' death. "And there is nothing I can do about it. It's just an emptiness that I think I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life."
Donna Trevino says she grew up in an abusive home, ran away at a young age and had four children. One lives with his father; Marcus was killed; and two are in foster care.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Social worker should be held liable; Gravelles should never have been given custody
Parents of caged kids get 2 years
Couple free on bond pending their appeal
Sheeran, Thomas. Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 16, 2007.
Two of their former adopted children smiled as a husband and wife were sentenced to two years in prison each for forcing some of their 11 adopted, special-needs children to sleep in cages.
Sharen and Michael Gravelle were released on bond after their sentencing yesterday by Huron County Common Pleas Judge Earl McGimpsey pending an expected appeal of their convictions.
"Mom, you always said whatever you think you are doing in private, it will be brought to the public," said a statement read on behalf of one of their former children, a girl who was one of the two who appeared in court. "So in this case, I would say it's your turn."
The other former adopted child, a boy, tried to control his laughter as Sharen Gravelle cried and told the judge before her sentencing that her problem derived in part from a child-welfare system indifferent to the destructive behavior of some of her children.
The two children sat elbow-to-elbow in court. The judge ordered that their names and other identifying information, including ages, be kept confidential to protect their privacy
The Gravelles sat impassively as the judge handed down the sentence, with Sharen Gravelle taking notes as she did throughout her trial. Michael Gravelle held his face in his left hand as the judge sentenced him.
The girl seemed to blame her former adoptive mother more than Michael Gravelle."I'll admit Dad wasn't as bad as Mom. He did whatever Mom told him to do. It was like he had no backbone when he was supposed to be the man of the family, always scared to go against whatever she said," her statement said.
Sharen Gravelle told the court the children were never confined as punishment but rather to protect them, including a child who wanted to jump out a second-floor window.
"Would you prefer that we let them jump? Either way, we'd be here. The difference is they're still alive," she said in a statement that lasted 26 minutes.
The 11 children, who suffered from problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and a disorder that involves eating nonfood items, ranged in age from 1 to 14 when authorities removed them in September 2005 from the Gravelles' home in Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland. They were placed in foster care in fall 2005 and the couple lost custody in March.
The Gravelles each could have received up to five years in prison for each of the four felony counts of child endangering they were convicted of in December. They also were convicted of seven misdemeanors.The couple has said they needed to keep some of the children in enclosed beds with alarms to protect them from their own dangerous behavior and stop them from wandering at night.
Prosecutors said the Gravelles were cruel. Witnesses, including the sheriff and some of the children, said the cages were urine-stained and lacked pillows or mattresses, but a social worker and others who testified for the defense said they never witnessed abuse. They said the children's behavior improved because of the cages, which were painted bright blue and red.
One Gravelle child testified he was forced to live in a bathroom for 81 days, sleeping in a bathtub because of a bed-wetting problem. The Gravelles' attorneys said the boy exaggerated the length of his bathroom stay, and an expert for the defense testified that the technique helped.
Michael Gravelle told the judge yesterday the problems began when they took in a group of siblings with an array of behaviorial and emotional problems.
"What do you do with these kids?" Michael Gravelle asked. "I prayed constantly for the answer."He said the enclosures resulted from the suggestions of a social worker, who recommended strict rules to improve the children's behavior.
"I'm begging you," Michael Gravelle told the judge. "I do not deserve jail."
Prosecutor Russell Leffler said the Gravelles deserved prison and that the number of children or their behavior were not excuses for how they were treated.
The former foster son who appeared in court yesterday said in a statement that he was thankful that his time with the Gravelles was behind him.
With his new foster parents, "I don't have to steal food. I can use the bathroom whenever I want," he said. "Never again will I have to sleep in a box."
Couple free on bond pending their appeal
Sheeran, Thomas. Columbus Dispatch, Feb. 16, 2007.
Two of their former adopted children smiled as a husband and wife were sentenced to two years in prison each for forcing some of their 11 adopted, special-needs children to sleep in cages.
Sharen and Michael Gravelle were released on bond after their sentencing yesterday by Huron County Common Pleas Judge Earl McGimpsey pending an expected appeal of their convictions.
"Mom, you always said whatever you think you are doing in private, it will be brought to the public," said a statement read on behalf of one of their former children, a girl who was one of the two who appeared in court. "So in this case, I would say it's your turn."
The other former adopted child, a boy, tried to control his laughter as Sharen Gravelle cried and told the judge before her sentencing that her problem derived in part from a child-welfare system indifferent to the destructive behavior of some of her children.
The two children sat elbow-to-elbow in court. The judge ordered that their names and other identifying information, including ages, be kept confidential to protect their privacy
The Gravelles sat impassively as the judge handed down the sentence, with Sharen Gravelle taking notes as she did throughout her trial. Michael Gravelle held his face in his left hand as the judge sentenced him.
The girl seemed to blame her former adoptive mother more than Michael Gravelle."I'll admit Dad wasn't as bad as Mom. He did whatever Mom told him to do. It was like he had no backbone when he was supposed to be the man of the family, always scared to go against whatever she said," her statement said.
Sharen Gravelle told the court the children were never confined as punishment but rather to protect them, including a child who wanted to jump out a second-floor window.
"Would you prefer that we let them jump? Either way, we'd be here. The difference is they're still alive," she said in a statement that lasted 26 minutes.
The 11 children, who suffered from problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and a disorder that involves eating nonfood items, ranged in age from 1 to 14 when authorities removed them in September 2005 from the Gravelles' home in Wakeman, about 60 miles west of Cleveland. They were placed in foster care in fall 2005 and the couple lost custody in March.
The Gravelles each could have received up to five years in prison for each of the four felony counts of child endangering they were convicted of in December. They also were convicted of seven misdemeanors.The couple has said they needed to keep some of the children in enclosed beds with alarms to protect them from their own dangerous behavior and stop them from wandering at night.
Prosecutors said the Gravelles were cruel. Witnesses, including the sheriff and some of the children, said the cages were urine-stained and lacked pillows or mattresses, but a social worker and others who testified for the defense said they never witnessed abuse. They said the children's behavior improved because of the cages, which were painted bright blue and red.
One Gravelle child testified he was forced to live in a bathroom for 81 days, sleeping in a bathtub because of a bed-wetting problem. The Gravelles' attorneys said the boy exaggerated the length of his bathroom stay, and an expert for the defense testified that the technique helped.
Michael Gravelle told the judge yesterday the problems began when they took in a group of siblings with an array of behaviorial and emotional problems.
"What do you do with these kids?" Michael Gravelle asked. "I prayed constantly for the answer."He said the enclosures resulted from the suggestions of a social worker, who recommended strict rules to improve the children's behavior.
"I'm begging you," Michael Gravelle told the judge. "I do not deserve jail."
Prosecutor Russell Leffler said the Gravelles deserved prison and that the number of children or their behavior were not excuses for how they were treated.
The former foster son who appeared in court yesterday said in a statement that he was thankful that his time with the Gravelles was behind him.
With his new foster parents, "I don't have to steal food. I can use the bathroom whenever I want," he said. "Never again will I have to sleep in a box."
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