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Juvenile Justice hearings “When Ciavarella took my kid, he released a monster. She blames us for putting her there.”

By Terrie Morgan-Besecker tmorgan@timesleader.com
Law & Order Reporter
Terrie Morgan-Besecker on Facebook   |   @TLTerrieMorgan on Twitter

PLAINS TWP. – The 12-year-old boy’s mother thought she would teach him a lesson.

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Parent, RK, talks about her daughter, AK's, experience in the Luzerne County Juvenile Justice system during the public hearings of the Interbranch Commission of Juvenile Justice at the Best Western East Mountain Inn in Plains Mon night. S.John Wilkin/The Times Leader

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Parent, EM, reads an emotional statement about her experience in the Luzerne County Juvenile Justice system during the public hearings of the Interbranch Commission of Juvenile Justice at the Best Western East Mountain Inn in Plains Mon. night. S.John Wilkin/The Times Leader

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The child had been “acting out.” And so when he jumped on top of her Mercedes and broke off the hood emblem, she decided to file charges against him.

That would get him in front of juvenile court Judge Mark Ciavarella, who would “put a good scare into him,” she thought.

She didn’t know it would be the start of a more than four-year legal nightmare, the woman, identified only as E.M., told the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice on Monday.

Her son was immediately placed at the PA Child Care juvenile detention facility, followed by an eight-month stint at Kidspeace, another juvenile facility.

After his release, he violated probation several times – usually for disruptions at home she believes were caused by emotional issues brought on by the death of his father. Each time Ciavarella sent him back to placement.

All told, her son spent 4-1/2 years in juvenile placement centers. The experience left him emotionally scarred, and her haunted by feelings of guilt that she ruined his life, she said.

“I didn’t protect my child. The court system did not protect my child,” she said, choking back tears. “I feel like a horrible mother. I let my son down when he needed me most.”

The woman was among members of five families impacted by the juvenile justice scandal who testified before the juvenile commission at a hearing held at the East Mountain Inn.

The commission opted to identify the juveniles and their families only by their initials, citing the recent state Supreme Court order that vacated all cases heard by Ciavarella from 2003 to 2008.

Details of the individual cases varied, but parents who testified said they shared two common emotions once their child’s hearing before Ciavarella concluded: shock and disbelief.

The parents of one of the juveniles, G.H. and R.H., said they were certain Ciavarella would have sympathy for their daughter after he learned the teen had been raped by a man who had plied her with alcohol.

The girl, then 15, had shown up at school drunk. That violated her probation on a simple assault charge that was lodged after she threw a rock and accidentally struck a neighbor’s child, the parents said.

The mother and father arrived early in court to explain she was having emotional troubles related to the rape. But that made little difference to Ciavarella, they said.

“He said it doesn’t matter. She has to pay for what she did. Do not mention that in my courtroom,” the mother testified.

Their daughter spent months in placement. The treatment, which everyone said would help her, did nothing but cause her to become an angry, distrustful person, they said.

“She doesn’t trust me anymore. She doesn’t trust doctors. She won’t go to counseling,” the mother said.

“Our family just fell apart,” added the father. “When Ciavarella took my kid, he released a monster. She blames us for putting her there.”

Other juveniles who testified Monday spoke of how their experiences left them with a distrust for the justice system.

“People who are put in power aren’t always the ones you can trust,” said one juvenile, who was sent away on charges of vandalizing street signs in West Pittston when she was 14.

The girl and her mother, identified as A.K. and R.K., told commission members the girl marked only a few signs, but the police officer tried to pin many more on her, charging her with 86 counts of vandalism.

When the mother protested, the officer threatened that if the girl did not plead guilty to all charges, “he’d make sure she’d see Judge Ciavarella on the day Penn State lost the previous weekend because Judge Ciavarella sends all juveniles to jail if Penn State loses,” she said.

The girl spent a few days in placement before being released after she suffered a seizure. Her mother said she developed the seizure disorder shortly after her arrest.

The impact of her experience resonated for years, the mother said. Her daughter had always been an A student. Her grades dropped to C’s and D’s and she became extremely withdrawn.

Other parents also said their children continue to suffer emotional issues related to their experiences in the juvenile system.

E.M., the mother who filed the charges against her son, said they have a strained relationship. She said she has gone through counseling to deal with the guilt she feels but can’t get past it.

“I can’t give my son back the 4-1/2 years he lost for jumping on my Mercedes and breaking my emblem,” she said.

While she blames Ciavarella for the damage done, she also feels prosecutors, defense attorneys and other judges had to know what was going on in his courtroom and share some responsibility.

“No one had the courage to stand up. They didn’t commit the crime, but they turned a blind eye,” she said.

The one thing she can do is speak out to try to ensure no one else ever endures what she and her son did, she said.

“If my testimony prevents one child from going through the hell we did, it was worth it,” she said.

Hearings before the commission will resume today at 9 a.m. Persons scheduled to testify include Luzerne County commissioners and officials with the Judicial Conduct Board.

Terrie Morgan-Besecker, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7179.