Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash

'I was completely destroyed'
Laurene Transue said Ciavarella “was playing God. And not only was he doing that, he was getting money for it. He was betraying the trust put in him to do what is best for children.”

Kurt Kruger, now 22, had never been in trouble with the law until the day police accused him of acting as a lookout while his friend shoplifted less than $200 worth of DVDs from Wal-Mart. He said he didn’t know his friend was going to steal anything.

Kruger pleaded guilty before Ciavarella and spent three days in a company-run juvenile detention center, plus four months at a youth wilderness camp run by a different operator.

“Never in a million years did I think that I would actually get sent away. I was completely destroyed,” said Kruger, who later dropped out of school. He said he wants to get his record expunged, earn his high school equivalency diploma and go to college.

“I got a raw deal, and yeah, it’s not fair,” he said, “but now it’s 100 times bigger than me.”

More from msnbc.com Easing job losses point to wobbly recovery Cars are approaching ‘auto’ pilot mode Were you paying attention? Take our news quiz  Facebook’s fantasy games cost more than time How readers got pieces of Berlin Wall | Gallery  Not supposed to worry about troops at home On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

Alleged shooter tied to mosque of 9/11 hijackers Fort Hood rampage brings prayers, questions Suspect identified in Seattle police killing Alleged Fort Hood shooter's lonely life Killings unsolved as sniper execution nears High court to look at life in prison for juveniles Prosecutors seek journalism students’ grades Onlookers flock to site of Cleveland killings Clear warning signs, Hasan's colleagues say NYT: Muslims at Fort Hood voice outrage Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: