TWO US judges who sent hundreds of children to for-profit prisons in return for bribes have been ordered to pay over $200 million (£165m) in compensation to their victims.

US District Judge Christopher Conner awarded $106m in compensatory damages and $100m in punitive damages to almost 300 plaintiffs at the close of a long-running civil suit.

Pennsylvania justices Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, who were jailed for 28 and 17 years respectively in 2010-11, shut down a county-run juvenile detention centre and accepted millions in bribes from the builder and co-owner of two private-sector lock-ups in return for sentencing children — some as young as eight — to serve time in the institutions.

They justified the harsh sentences for minor offences including petty theft and shoplifting with a “zero-tolerance” policy.

Over 4,000 juvenile convictions were thrown out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court when the “kids for cash” scandal was exposed.

Mr Ciavarella, who was notorious for ordering those he ruled delinquent to be shackled and carted off to prison without a chance to say goodbye to their families, is still behind bars, though Mr Conahan was released to house arrest in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Ciavarella and Conahan abandoned their oath and breached the public trust,” Judge Conner wrote.

“Their cruel and despicable actions victimised a vulnerable population of young people, many of whom were suffering from emotional issues and mental health concerns.”