COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- An Ohio couple accused of keeping their 11 adopted children in chicken wire cages were found guilty Friday of child endangerment and abuse.
Of the 24 charges that Michael and Sharen Gravelle each faced in an Ohio court, both were found guilty by a jury Friday on six counts of child endangering and four misdemeanor counts of child abuse, WBNX-TV, Cleveland, reported.
With four of the child endangerment counts counting as felonies, the couple could each face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Attorneys involved in the Huron County court case said the jury's limited verdict in relation to all the potential charges may have been due to a focus on the unethical treatment the children endured.
"That tells me that perhaps the jury didn't really not necessarily have a problem with the enclosures," one attorney explained. "It might have been more treatment related in addition to the enclosures."
WBNX-TV reported the couple will be sentenced sometime in mid-February.
