Being a little kid, means that you depend on the adults on most everything and you give them your full trust. Since kids don’t understand what’s actually going around them, this sadly opens possibilities to exploitation, which is an issue that children around the world suffer from every year.
In October 2013, Carlyle Smith went to the home where Sharen and Michael Gravelle live looking for a part-time job with the family. He expected a busy household since the couple has been taking care of 11 adoptive children, but what he found out there took him by surprise..
The moment Carlyle walked into the Gravelle’s house, he knew something is wrong.
He was looking to get a part-time job with the family, but he immediately realized that his “interview” was a peek of something more horrifying happening in that house.
Carlyle was told not to go upstairs under any circumstances. Then, when he heard a child moving, he picked up on the fact that Sharen had told said child to go and lock himself back in his cage. Yes: Cage.
Right after Carlyle left the home, he called the police and alert them to the fact that there was a very serious problem and they need to intervene.
In 2017, four years after the rescue, two of the 11 children, Simon and Abba, made their appearance on the Dr. Phil Show.
The two kids went through hell when they were just kids. Thankfully, they’re now strong enough to talk openly about it and act as inspirations for other people.
The Gravelles, of course, were both convicted of child abuse and child endangerment, and so can no longer pose any threat to children.
Watch the video below to see Simon and Abba meeting the man who rescued them from a life of torture:
