Judge jailed for 28 years over ‘kids for cash’ scandal

A FORMER Pennsylvania juvenile court judge was sentenced to 28 years in prison for accepting payment to send juveniles to a for-profit detention facility in a scandal dubbed “kids for cash”.

Former Luzerne County Juvenile Court Judge Mark Ciavarella, 61, accepted nearly $1 million from a developer who built the detention facility, prosecutors said.

Under the “kids for cash” scheme, thousands of juveniles were shipped to the private centre on minor or questionable charges by Ciavarella and another former judge, Michael Conahan, according to juvenile advocates.