Posted in Children Seized by Social Workers

 I have been following two important cases here in Ohio involving the Department of Children's Services.  One, the "children in cages" case, reached the national media.  Robert Surgenor, an expert on Ohio law concerning child neglect and abuse, speaks at the CHEO convention each year, and is considered an expert witness at trials.  He has sent out updates on this case from the beginning of the time his organization, Family Defense Network, became involved.  Over the next couple weeks, I'll be posting these, so that you can hear the "real" story of the Gravelle family. 

Also, please pray for another family, the Pastor Randy Wickard family, who also had an adopted son removed from their home.  This case is more personal for me, as Randy and his wife, Eunice, babysat BJ when he was young, and they attended our church.  Randy would NEVER would have done the things he has been accused of.  I will post updates on his case, as well.  

From: "Family Defense Network"

Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 6:31 PM
Subject: Gravelles charged criminally?

Dear Folks:

For those of you who are close enough to Cleveland to pick up WJW Channel 8 Television, you might want to watch the Ten O'clock news tonight. I just talked with Sharen Gravelle, and she advised me that there are rumblings in Huron County out of the prosecutor's office about charging them CRIMINALLY with Child Abuse. The story will also be carried in the Cleveland Plain Dealer tomorrow.

Michael and Sharen are terrified, because a conviction could mean jail time. I tried to assure them that in the opinion of this cop, I believe it is the best thing that could happen. If they are charged with a crime, they would get a jury to listen to the facts. The letter of the law would be explained. It would be in front of a different judge. The Gravelles would be seen by the jury as the compassionate loving parents that they are.

Personally, I think the prosecutor is blowing a lot of smoke. The Gravelles have been ordered to take the beds down, and to sign a CASE PLAN designed by Children's Services before the dispositional hearing on January 18th. The Gravelles don't want to cooperate. The prosecutor is angry about that. I believe he is making threats to frighten the Gravelles into submission.

I will keep you all updated on this case.

Robert R. Surgenor Sr.
Family Defense Network of Ohio
1-800-438-8277 

From: "Family Defense Network"

Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: This is urgent!

Dear Folks:

For those of you who have considered donating something to the Gravelle Defense Fund, I want to explain why the appeal of this case is so critically important. Since I became involved in this case, I have discovered some of the deepest corruption I have ever seen in my career in law enforcement. The District Appellate Court NEEDS to hear this case. When the District Court finds out what happened to the Gravelles, I am confident they will overturn the decision by the Juvenile Court Judge that the Gravelles abused their children. Let me tell you a little bit of what I have learned.

The social worker generated a false complaint in order to appear at the Gravelle's front door. Once she was allowed entry, the social worker actually filed a false complaint of child abuse by stating that the children were kept in a small dog cage on the first floor of the home. That alone, is a criminal offense. When the judge issued the warrant, he was under the impression that the children were being locked in a small dog cage. When the Gravelle attorney attempted to bring this fact up in court, the judge sustained an objection by the prosecutor, and the information was squashed. That action smells pretty bad to me.

The Sheriff's deputy that took all eleven children from the home testified in court that he saw no immediate danger to the children, but "decided to take them anyways." The judge ruled that an "exposed wire" in one of the rooms posed a "substantial risk" to the children. The wire was #12 fully insulated Romex, exposed when the children punched a hole in the wall. The children had a better chance of being shocked by a standard lamp cord than they did from a rated 20 amp fully insulated Romex wire. It was NOT exposed with bare wires! This whole case smells of a cover-up.

The Gravelle attorney, Ken Myers, has donated most of his time at NO COST to the Gravelles. Ken Myers is one of the most honorable attorneys I have ever met! He is ONE OF THE FEW that gets involved because HE BELIEVES in what he is doing. He is fighting because he BELIEVES the Gravelles have done NOTHING wrong. I agree with him!

The court reporter is requiring a down payment of $2500.00 to begin the transcribing of the hearing testimony. The total transcript will cost about $7000.00. The Gravelles NEED that transcript in order to file their appeal. Ken Myers NEEDS those transcripts of the deputy testifying that he saw no immediate danger to the children. He NEEDS those transcripts of the social worker being cross-examined on the witness stand. There is no way he can put up that money himself (even if he wasn't married!). We desperately need your
help to be able to pay for the cost of the transcripts. And time is of the essence. We need to begin those transcripts by next week.

I was just contacted by a couple who wish to remain anonymous who have a proposal for everyone out there. They have agreed to MATCH any donation you make, up to $1000.00, with an equal amount of their own money! In other words, if you donate $25.00, they will add another $25.00 to it. If you donate one dollar, they will add one dollar to it. If we can get $1000.00 in donations, they will match it with another $1000.00.

Even if you can spare only ten or twenty dollars, please send it to "The Gravelle Fund at Key Bank," 11 West Main Street, Wakeman, Ohio 44889. Every single dollar helps to pay for the total cost of the appeal. Without help from others, the Gravelles will never have a chance of getting their children back.

Thank You!

Robert R. Surgenor Sr.
Family Defense Network of Ohio
1-800-438-8277 

From: "Family Defense Network"

Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 9:45 PM
Subject: Important Gravelle Update

Dear Folks:

This is a very important Gravelle update. I want you to read it carefully so you can understand how grave the situation is for Mike and Sharen Gravelle. The attorney for the Gravelles has made a request for transcripts from the abuse hearing, at a cost of $7000.00. Huron county is aware that there is one reason a defense attorney would request transcripts, and that would be to prepare for an appeal in the District Appellate Court.

It is apparent to me that Huron County officials fear what the Appellate Court will do with the finding by juvenile court that the Gravelle children were abused. The Gravelle parents still HAVE NOT BEEN CHARGED with a crime! That is because they would be entitled to a jury trial, and the jury would hear the truth. The Appellate Court is also going to hear the truth. I believe the people persecuting the Gravelles are afraid that their tactics will be recognized and their "decision" will be overturned. The corruption in Huron County could be uncovered by a higher court!

So things are getting real nasty. There are three major developments that have occurred since the Gravelles have requested the trial transcripts.

First, Elaine Thompson has had a "complaint" filed against her and she is being charged with "Failure to Report Child Abuse" by the county. For those of you who watched the GOOD social worker Elaine Thompson in the "Real Story of the Children In Cages" DVD we distributed, you will remember that she is the person who testified in court ON BEHALF of the Gravelles. You might remember that the Huron County prosecutor commented on Elaine's testimony by saying, "Some people don't know when to keep their mouth shut!" It now appears that Elaine is paying the price for helping the Gravelles.

Second, the county has withdrawn their "case plan" that they had scheduled for the Gravelles to get their children back. The Gravelles had already taken steps to disassemble the beds and were going to allow Children's Services into their home in order to get their kids back. The county has now changed its mind. There will be no reunification effort on the part of Huron County. All eleven children are being put up for adoption!

Third, I was given the OK by the Gravelle's attorney to warn you of another attempt by the county to smear these parents. Very soon, the county prosecutor is going to be made public allegations that the dad, Michael Gravelle, was involved in a case of child abuse 20 years ago. The story that the county is going to tell WILL BE TWISTED so much that it will cause many people to doubt the Gravelles. I have heard all of the facts, and although I cannot disclose to you exactly what happened 20 years ago, I do know that Michael did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AGAINST THE LAW. He was intimidated by Children's Services to cooperate with them. Michael jumped through all of the hoops that Children's Services told him to because he THOUGHT HE HAD TO, not because he was guilty! This happens to thousands of parents every year, and each and every one of them could be perceived as "guilty" because they went through a "treatment program."

There is one major reason that Huron County Children's Services has had to dig 20 years into the Gravelle's past to find something to smear their name. It is because THE CURRENT ABUSE ALLEGATIONS HAVE NO MERIT! The social workers and prosecutor's office needs SOMETHING to justify the abduction of eleven children from their parents. If you throw enough junk at the wall, eventually something will stick. Huron County is hoping something they throw out will stick.

I want to thank every one who has contributed to the Gravelle defense fund. Sharen Gravelle just forwarded to me a "thank you note" to all of those who have helped them, both financially and emotionally. I will be sending you that note shortly in another e-mail. Please pray for Michael and Sharen Gravelle and their eleven children, all in foster homes. Their only hope is an appeal. We are determined to make that happen!

Robert R. Surgenor Sr.
Family Defense Network of Ohio
1-800-438-8277