Huron County settles for $1.2 million in caged kids' case

3/10/2010

Attorneys representing eleven children who were kept in cages by their adoptive and foster parents have reached a $1.2 million settlement with Huron County.

The children were removed from the home of Michael and Sharen Gravelle by Huron County authorities in 2005. However, the Gravelle children's attorney Jack Landskroner said the county and its Department of Children's Services should have acted sooner in the case.

Huron County maintains it acted appropriately.

Mr. Landskroner said the settlement is the first step in a series of lawsuits to be filed against various agencies and individuals who were responsible for placing the children in the Gravelles' home and working with the family.

One lawsuit which names Hamilton County among other entities is pending in United States District Court in Cleveland.