Spanish
Santiago. - The lawyers of Stephora Anne-Mircie Joseph's family reported this Tuesday that the videos provided by the Public Ministry confirm that the 11-year-old girl asked for help while drowning during a field trip from the Leonardo Da Vinci Institute and that, despite this, none of the caregivers acted to rescue her.
As explained by lawyer Shesnel Calcaño, the recordings captured at Hacienda Los Caballos show the minor falling into an unmarked uneven area, desperately fighting for her life and remaining submerged for more than 30 minutes without the emergency being noticed. He added that even some children saw her, but they were not heard.
Lawyers Calcaño and Miguel Díaz criticized that the educational center is not listed as a defendant in the process, despite the fact that 32 staff members participated in the recreational activity, and that charges have only been filed against four employees of the school.
You can also read: “This death should not have happened”, says Olga Diná Lloverías; coercion of Da Vinci employees postponed until this Wednesday
They also claim that videos captured before and during the incident have yet to be delivered, and they denounce that none of the 87 students who participated in the excursion have been interviewed by the authorities to expand the investigation. The Public Ministry has requested an economic guarantee of RD$50 million, a travel ban, and other coercive measures against the four defendants, pointing out serious failures in supervision, absence of rescue personnel, and lack of safety protocols in the school activity. The hearing for the knowledge of the coercion was postponed by Judge Yaritza Cabral, of the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services, and will continue this Wednesday at 9:00 in the morning at the Palace of Justice of Santiago, at the request of the parties to complete the filing of documents and the study of the file. The defendants are Yris del Carmen Reyes Adames (administrative director), Gisela Altagracia de las Mercedes González Estrella (general coordinator), Francisca Josefina Tavárez Vélez (counselor) and Vilma Altagracia Vargas Morel (secondary level coordinator). All were arrested on Saturday and remain in custody at the jail of the Palace of Justice. The tragic death of Stephora, which occurred on November 14th, continues to generate national shock and pressure for the establishment of both individual and institutional responsibilities.
