Couple sues over removal of children
An Ohio couple convicted of keeping some of their children in cages claim in a lawsuit that police and welfare workers entered their home illegally.
Michael and Sharen Gravelle have been sentenced to two years in prison but have been allowed to remain free pending appeal.
In their lawsuit, filed in federal court in Cleveland, they say Huron County child welfare workers and sheriff’s deputies removed their 11 adopted children illegally in 2005, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. The county was responding to a tip about the couple’s treatment of their children.
The Gravelles say they built enclosures around some of the children’s beds to keep them from harming themselves.
"County officials need to be held accountable for their actions,” the Gravelles’ lawyer, Ken Myers, said.
The suit claims the county’s actions damaged the couple's reputation and caused them lasting harm.
// Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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