HARRISBURG, Pa., March 27 (UPI) -- Teens sentenced by a judge who took bribes from private detention centers should have their records cleared, a Pennsylvania court said Thursday.
The state Supreme Court order involves juveniles sentenced between 2003 and 2008 by Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., who served as a judge in Luzerne County in eastern Pennsylvania, The New York Times reported. A special master has been appointed to sort out the details and has already reported that the constitutional rights of children were routinely violated.
Ciavarella and another judge, Michael T. Conohan, pleaded guilty last month to wire fraud and conspiracy. They said they got about $2.6 million from the owners of two detention centers. Their agreement calls for 87-month prison terms.
The judges arranged for the closure of a county detention center. Juveniles given custodial sentences were then sent to two private and related centers, PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care.
The pair admitted a division of labor, with Ciavarella running the juvenile courts. About one-quarter of the juveniles sentenced in his court went into custody compared to one in 10 whose cases were heard by other judges.
