A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba diving boat captain to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for criminal negligence in connection with a fire on board that killed 34 people.
The fire on September 2, 2019 was the worst maritime disaster in recent U.S. history and prompted changes in maritime regulations, reforms in Congress, and several ongoing lawsuits.
Captain Jerry Boylan was found guilty last year of one count of misconduct or neglect as a crew member. The charge was a pre-Civil War statute known colloquially as seaman’s manslaughter. Its purpose was to hold steamboat captains and crews responsible for disasters at sea.
Boylan’s family pleaded with Judge George Wu in an emotional hearing to sentence Boylan to the maximum 10 years in prison. Many cried as Robert Kurtz, the father of Alexandra Kurtz, the only sailor killed, came to the podium carrying a small container to address Boylan and the court.
“This is all I have for my daughter,” he said.
Yadira Alvarez is the mother of 16-year-old Berenice Felipe, who volunteers at an animal shelter. Dreaming of becoming a marine biologist, he was also the youngest of the 34 victims on the ship.
“He is not a victim. He is responsible for my daughter not being here,” Alvarez sobbed in the courtroom. “Can you imagine my pain?”
During the hearing, Boylan’s attorney read a statement aloud to the court in which Boylan expressed his condolences and said he had cried every day since the fire.
“I hope I got everyone home safe,” the statement read. “I’m sorry.”
Wu said he considered Boylan’s age, health, likelihood of relapse and the need for deterrence and punishment when determining the sentence.
He said that while Boylan’s actions were reckless, the sentencing guidelines did not warrant a 10-year sentence.
“This is not something the defendant did intentionally,” Wu said.
The defense asked the judge to sentence Boylan to five years of probation, including three years of house arrest.
Boylan’s appeal is ongoing.
Daniel, the son of one of the victims, Hank Garcia, said he is not a vindictive person, but he and other family members don’t want something like this to happen again.
“We are all sentenced to life imprisonment,” he told the court. “Without these people we love, we’re on a life sentence.”
The Concept, anchored near Santa Cruz Island, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Santa Barbara, caught fire before dawn on the final day of a three-day trip and sank less than 100 feet (30 kilometers) from the coast. feet) place.
Thirty-three passengers and one crew member died after being trapped in a bunk below decks. Among the dead was a sailor who had found her dream job. An environmental scientist conducting research in Antarctica; a couple traveling the world; a data scientist in Singapore; and a family of three sisters, their father and his wife.
Boylan was the first to abandon ship and jump overboard. Four crew members with him also survived.
U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement: “While today’s sentencing will not fully heal their wounds, we hope that efforts to hold this defendant criminally accountable will go some way. their families.
Thursday’s sentencing was the final step in a contentious prosecution that has lasted nearly five years and repeatedly frustrated the families of the victims.
In 2020, a grand jury initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of seaman’s manslaughter, meaning he could have faced a total of 340 years in prison. Boylan’s attorneys argued the deaths were the result of a single incident, not separate crimes, so prosecutors received a superseding indictment charging Boylan with just one count.
In 2022, U.S. District Judge George Wu dismissed the superseding indictment, saying it failed to specify that Boylan acted with gross negligence. Prosecutors were then forced to face another grand jury trial.
Although the exact cause of the Conception’s fire has not been determined, prosecutors and the defense sought to assign blame during a 10-day trial last year.
The government said Boylan failed to conduct night patrols as required and never conducted proper firefighting training for his crew. With no patrols on duty, the fire was able to spread to the 75-foot (23-meter) ship undetected.
But Boylan’s attorneys have tried to pin the blame on Glen Fritzler, who with his wife owns Truth Aquatics Inc., which operates the Conception and two other boats Scuba diving boats often sail around the Channel Islands. They held Fritzler responsible for failing to train his crew on fire and other safety measures and for creating a permissive sailing culture (what they called the “Fritzler way”) in which he The working captain did not send out an inspector.
The Fritzlers have not spoken publicly about the tragedy since being interviewed by local television days after the fire. Their attorneys never responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
With the criminal case over, attention now turns to several ongoing lawsuits.
Three days after the fire, Truth Aquatics sued under a pre-Civil War maritime law provision that allowed it to limit liability to the value of the ship’s wreckage, which was a total loss. This time-tested legal tactic has been used successfully by the owners of the Titanic and other ships and requires the Fritzlers to prove they were not at fault.
That case and others filed by victims’ families against the Coast Guard are pending, alleging that the Coast Guard failed to enforce mobile watch requirements.
After Thursday’s sentencing, Susana Solano, who lost her three daughters and their father on the boat, said she and other family members hoped the judge would hear their pleas.
“I’m very disappointed,” she said. “It’s really heartbreaking.”
