Guatemaltec judge sentenced 6 ex-officials for the death of 41 girls

Guatemaltec judge sentenced 6 ex-officials for the death of 41 girls

in Guatemala, six people were convicted of various crimes on Tuesday who were connected to the death of 41 girls in a fire in a facility for endangered young people in 2017. This facility had a sad history of abuse.

judgment and punishments

The accused had all over the innocence on Tuesday. Judge Ingrid Cifuentes imposed punishments from six to 25 years for offenses that ranged from assault to abuse of office. She also ordered that former President Jimmy Morales, because of his role in instructing the police, is examined in a facility in which minor criminals were recorded.

claims of the public prosecutor's office

The public prosecutor had previously called for some of the convicts - all of the former government employees, of which people also included people whose tasks included the protection of children.

a crucial witness

Former Minister of Social Affairs Carlos Rodas was sentenced to 25 years in prison. In court, Rodas said that he had "caused no damage" on the daughters and survivors. Among the convicts was the former policewoman Lucinda Marroquín, who had the key to the room in which the girls were locked up and did not open him when the fire broke out. She received a penalty of 13 years.

The incidents around the fire

The judge said that the investigators were able to determine by telephone notes that Marroquín was on the phone at the time of the fire. A witness had stated that Marroquín reacted to the news about the fire with curses and said: "Let her burn." A former prosecutor who was responsible for the protection of children was acquitted.

chronology of tragedy

On March 8, 2017, a girl in the Virgen de la Asuncion Safe Home, which was 14 miles east of Guatemala City, set fire to a foam mattress. In the room in which a group of girls was locked for hours without access to a bathroom, smoke and flames quickly filled up, which resulted in 41 girls died and 15 more were injured.

grievances in the facility

About 700 children lived in this facility, which was designed for a maximum of 500 people. The majority had not committed a crime and had been accommodated there for various reasons, such as tearing out or abuse. The night before the fire, a group of girls had escaped, but hours later the police brought them back. They were locked up in a room that had no access to a bathroom and was guarded by police officers. They were given foam mattresses for sleeping.

consequences and investigation

After hours of desire to be left out, one of the girls lit the fire. Cifuentes explained that the fire is the climax of a series of abuse, some of which were reported to the authorities but were not pursued. The autopsy confirmed the presence of drugs in some girls, which supported their symptoms that they had been given sleeping pills that had led to their attempt to escape from the facility, among other things.