Ohio ? Sheriff’s deputies found 11 children locked in cages less than 3 1/2 feet high inside a home, but a couple denied they had abused or neglected the children.

A judge on Monday put the children, ages 1 to 14, in foster homes.

They were found in nine cages built into the walls of the house near this small city in northern Ohio, according to the Huron County Sheriff’s Office. They had no blankets or pillows, and the cages were rigged with alarms that sounded if the cage was opened, Lt. Randy Sommers said.

The children told authorities they slept in the cages – 40 inches high and 40 inches deep – at night. Doors to some of the cages were blocked with heavy furniture.

Sharen and Mike Gravelle are adoptive or foster parents for all 11 children, officials said. Prosecutors were reviewing the case, but no charges had been filed as of Monday night.

A children’s services investigator saw one of the children in a cage Friday, Sommers said. The sheriff’s office obtained a warrant and returned to the house that evening and removed the children.

Appearing with a lawyer at the hearing, the Gravelles denied they had abused or neglected the children.