MP demands economic guarantee of RD$50 million from those accused of Stephora's death in Santiago

Santiago.- The Public Ministry requested this Sunday the imposition of strict coercive measures against four directors of the Leonardo Da Vinci School, including an economic guarantee of RD$50 million for each defendant, for their alleged responsibility in the drowning death of the student Stephora Anne-Mircie Joseph, 11 years old, during a school excursion on November 14 in Santiago.

The request, filed before the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services, also includes prohibition of departure, periodic presentation and placement of electronic trackers, due to the procedural risk and the seriousness of the events, as stated by the criminal prosecution body. The imputed directives are Yris del Carmen Reyes Adames, administrative director; Gisela Altagracia de las Mercedes González Estrella, general coordinator; Francisca Josefina Tavarez Vélez, counselor; and Vilma Altagracia Vargas Morel, coordinator of the secondary level. The Public Ministry points them out as directly responsible for guaranteeing the safety and supervision of the students during the activity. The accused are charged with involuntary manslaughter, in accordance with article 319 of the Penal Code, as well as abandonment and mistreatment of minors, based on article 351-2 of the same code and article 14 of Law 136-03.

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The investigation indicates that the directives mobilized 87 students with only three caregivers, without lifeguards or safety protocols, and without confirming if the minors knew how to swim, despite the fact that the activity took place in the swimming pools of the Los Caballos hacienda, in Gurabo. The Prosecutor's Office says it has a video that demonstrates "extreme negligence". The case file is led by Assistant Attorney Wilson Camacho and court attorney Olga Diná Llaverías, under the instructions of Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso. As part of the criminal action, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested the Ministry of Education to conduct a comprehensive inspection of the educational center to ensure compliance with the principle of the best interests of the child and prevent similar events from happening again.