Michael and Sharen Gravelle
Encyclopedia
Michael and Sharen Gravelle are known for having adopted
eleven special needs
children in Clarksfield Township, Ohio, United States
. In 2003 they were indicted for child abuse
for, among other things, keeping the children in cage-like enclosures. The Gravelles claimed the cages were made to protect the children from each other.
Their trial motivated legislators in Ohio to pass laws to prevent people from adopting so many children without a great deal of oversight by the state. They used parenting methods similar to those used in attachment therapy
, which involves very strict control of children using isolation, food deprivation, and other disciplinary measures that many people consider excessive. The trial gained international attention and brought many inadequacies of the adoption services systems in Ohio to the fore.
In 2005 the Gravelles were sentenced to two years in prison for their crimes. According to Advocates for Children in Therapy
and newspaper reports, their therapist, Elaine Thompson, a social worker practicing as an attachment therapist, advised the Gravelles on parenting techniques. Thompson, according to these reports, had undertaken counselling or therapy, including holding therapy, with some of the Gravelle children. Elaine Thompson was indicted along with the Gravelles, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanor
s in a plea bargain
.
The Gravelles served their two-year sentences from April 2009 to March 2011.
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
eleven special needs
Special needs
In the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...
children in Clarksfield Township, Ohio, United States
Clarksfield Township, Huron County, Ohio
Clarksfield Township is one of the nineteen townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,518 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the eastern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
. In 2003 they were indicted for child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
for, among other things, keeping the children in cage-like enclosures. The Gravelles claimed the cages were made to protect the children from each other.
Their trial motivated legislators in Ohio to pass laws to prevent people from adopting so many children without a great deal of oversight by the state. They used parenting methods similar to those used in attachment therapy
Attachment Therapy
Attachment therapy is the most commonly used term for a controversial category of alternative child mental health interventions intended to treat attachment disorders. The term generally includes accompanying parenting techniques...
, which involves very strict control of children using isolation, food deprivation, and other disciplinary measures that many people consider excessive. The trial gained international attention and brought many inadequacies of the adoption services systems in Ohio to the fore.
In 2005 the Gravelles were sentenced to two years in prison for their crimes. According to Advocates for Children in Therapy
Advocates for Children in Therapy
Advocates for Children in Therapy is a U.S. advocacy group opposed to attachment therapy and related treatments. The organization opposes a number of psychotherapeutic techniques which it considers potentially or actually harmful to children who undergo treatment...
and newspaper reports, their therapist, Elaine Thompson, a social worker practicing as an attachment therapist, advised the Gravelles on parenting techniques. Thompson, according to these reports, had undertaken counselling or therapy, including holding therapy, with some of the Gravelle children. Elaine Thompson was indicted along with the Gravelles, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
s in a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
.
The Gravelles served their two-year sentences from April 2009 to March 2011.