The parents of a Fayette County man convicted for his role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal have filed a petition in county court seeking partial custody of the two children Charles A. Graner Jr. had with his former wife.
But the kids say they have no interest in having a relationship with Charles Graner Sr. and Irma Graner, who continue to support their son.
The Graners, of Whitehall, Allegheny County, claim that Staci M. Morris, of Uniontown, has refused to allow them to visit with their grandchildren, Brittni Graner, 14, and Dean Graner, 12.
Amid allegations that Charles Graner Jr. abused Morris, their 10-year marriage ended in 2000. Morris remarried three years later.
"The best interest and permanent welfare of the children will be served by granting the relief requested because the children have not been able to visit with their paternal grandparents," according to the complaint filed Friday by Uniontown attorney Phyllis A. Jin. "The grandparents enjoyed a close and loving relationship with their grandchildren until the mother interfered with the relationship."
Morris said the filing came as a shock to her and her children, who said yesterday it's ridiculous that the Graners would characterize their relationship with the children as "close." Morris, 34, said she has tried to keep her distance from the Graner family so her kids can grow up with as normal a childhood as possible.
"We're trying to stay away from these people as much as we can, but they are relentless," Morris said after the Tribune-Review provided her a copy of the petition. "I see where their son comes from."
Graner, 36, formerly of Uniontown, was sentenced in January to serve 10 years in a military prison after he was found guilty at a court-martial of five charges related to the mistreatment of detainees at the Iraqi prison. Prosecutors painted Graner, a U.S. Army Reserve specialist, as the ringleader of the abuse, which was captured in photographs taken at the prison and released to the media last year.
Graner has maintained that the abuse was ordered by military intelligence. An answering-machine recording at Graners' home encourages callers to visit a Web site that alleges that their son is the scapegoat of a government conspiracy to conceal the military's policies and procedures.
"In the past year, they've seen us only twice," Brittni Graner said. "Once was in January, and they tried to convince us what Chuck did was right."
The Graners also made a more recent attempt to visit Morris and her children, stopping by her house within the last couple of weeks, Morris said.
Dean Graner said the Graners refuse to admit that their son has done anything wrong in Iraq or in his relationship with Morris.
"They don't really like us anymore, now that we hate Chuck, and we kind of fear him because of what he did to our mom," he said.
Pennsylvania recognizes the rights of grandparents to seek visitation, partial physical custody, or primary physical custody of their minor grandchildren, according to the Web site for the Pittsburgh family-law firm Lisa Marie Vari & Associates.
"The grandparents must prove that the requested custody would be in the best interests of the minor grandchild or grandkids and would not interfere with the relationship between the parent and the minor child," the Web site states.
Court records show that Charles Graner Jr., a former guard at the State Correctional Institution at Greene, had an order for shared custody of his children that allowed them to stay with him during his days off before his military call-up.
Graner also reportedly fathered a child with Pfc. Lynndie England, an Army reservist from Fort Ashby, W.Va., who also faces charges in connection with the Abu Ghraib scandal. England's attorneys say their client gave birth to a son on Oct. 10, 2004, and that Graner is the child's biological father.
The Graners did not return a message last night.
