Two Pa. judges have been accused of taking money to send kids to private detention centers. JusticeNewsFlash.com
Two judges in Pennsylvania have been charged with misconduct in accepting millions of dollars in exchange for sentencing kids to jail time. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan allegedly accepted payoffs to send teenagers brought before their court for minor offenses to months in private detention centers. Marsha Levick with the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia is quoted in the report as stating of the case, “I’ve never encountered, and I don’t think that we will in our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids’ lives were just tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money.”
As noted in the report, the judges were accused of taking $2.6 million to place offenders in centers operated by PA Child Care LLC and Western PA Childcare LLC. There is an ongoing investigation into the matter as well as an investigation by the High Court regarding possibly thousands of juvenile cases that should be overturned.
The judges, who are set to plead guilty on Thursday, will receive more than seven years in prison in accordance with a plea agreement.
