toledoblade.com --

NORWALK, Ohio - The Huron County couple who lost custody of their 11 adopted children after keeping some of them in cages signaled yesterday that they aren't done fighting to be reunited with the youngsters.

Attorney Kenneth Myers filed a notice of appeal yesterday in Huron County Juvenile Court on behalf of Michael and Sharen Gravelle asking the 6th District Court of Appeals to overturn a ruling last week by Judge Timothy Cardwell that terminated the couple's parental rights.

In his decision, the judge awarded permanent custody of all but one of the children to the Huron County Department of Job and Family Services. The 11th child, an Illinois native whose adoption by the Gravelles wasn't finalized, was kept in temporary county custody.

Under the judge's order, all 11 children remain in foster care while the county tries to find new adoptive homes for them.

But Mr. Myers said after filing the appeal notice late yesterday afternoon at the Huron County Courthouse that the Gravelles "are making an attempt to go on the offensive."

"By going to the Court of Appeals, we are telling the community that this isn't over," Mr. Myers said. "We feel that the Juvenile Court was in error."

In the notice of appeal, Mr. Myers argued that Judge Cardwell erred by:

● Admitting certain evidence into the custody case.

● Qualifying certain witnesses as experts.

●Finding that eight of the children had been abused and that all 11 were dependent, meaning they were at risk of abuse or neglect.

●Granting permanent custody to the county.

"Even if the court was correct in the abuse allegation, we also maintain that the punishment was too harsh," Mr. Myers said.

Huron County authorities removed the children Sept. 9, 2005, after finding six wood-and-wire cages, plus a bedroom that had been barricaded with a dresser, in the Gravelles' home on St. John Road in Clarksfield Township.

In his ruling, Judge Cardwell cited the use of the cages for sleeping and punishment, testimony by three county-hired psychologists, and sexual-abuse allegations against Mr. Gravelle by his now-grown daughter.

The Gravelles were indicted last month on felony charges of endangering children, perjury, and falsification, plus misdemeanor charges of endangering children.

Mr. Myers filed motions yesterday in Huron County Common Pleas Court seeking to have the couple's trial, set for Sept. 12, moved to another county, and requesting the suppression of evidence gathered during the search of their home that led to the children's removal.

Mr. Myers said extensive publicity during the case, which has attracted statewide and national attention, would make getting a fair trial in Huron County impossible.

He also argued, as he did during the Juvenile Court proceedings, that the warrant that authorized the Sept. 9 search of the Gravelle home was invalid because it contained incorrect information, including misstating the size and number of the cages and their location in the house.

Huron County Prosecutor Russell Leffler could not be reached for comment last night.

Contact Steve Murphy at:
smurphy@theblade.com
or 419-724-6078.

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