Mexican Private School Owner Sentenced for Earthquake Deaths

Voice of America
15 Oct 2020, 12:35 GMT+10

The former owner of a Mexico City private school who was convicted of manslaughter last month in the deaths of 26 people during a 7.1-magnitude earthquake was sentenced to 31 years in prison.

During Wednesday's sentencing, the court ruled Monica Garcia Villegas, former owner and director of the Enrique Rebsamen School, acted carelessly by building an apartment for herself on the roof of the school building.

The court deemed the extra weight was a factor in the building's collapse during the September 19, 2017, earthquake that killed 19 children and seven adults.

In addition to the prison sentence, Villegas was ordered to pay nearly $19,000 to each victim's family and fined $5,800 for criminal negligence.

The Mexico News Daily reports Villegas was arrested in May of last year in Mexico City on a tip from her brother who received a reward of just over $234,000 for leading authorities to her.

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