Former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan has pleaded guilty to a racketeering for helping put juvenile defendants behind bars in exchange for bribes.He is accused along with former judge Mark Ciavarella of taking $2.8m (£1.8m) from a profit-making detention centre.The two pleaded guilty last year for taking kickbacks from a privately-run detention centre but a federal judge tossed out part of the plea agreement for being too lenient.
Prosecutors said Conahan had closed a county-owned juvenile detention centre in 2002, just before signing an agreement to use a for-profit centre. Prosecutors also say Mr Ciavarella, a former juvenile court judge, then allegedly worked with Mr Conahan to ensure a constant flow of detainees. The two men were originally charged in early 2009 with accepting money from the builder and owner of a for-profit detention centre that housed county juveniles in exchange for giving children longer, harsher sentences.The deal allowed PA Child Care LLC and a sister company to receive extra government funds
A spokeswoman for the Juvenile Law Center alleges that Mr Ciavarella gave excessively harsh sentences to 1,000-2,000 juveniles between 2003 and 2006. Many of the children were first-time offenders. Some of the children were shackled, denied lawyers, and pulled from their homes for offences which included stealing change from cars and failure to appear as witnesses.
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