19S earthquake: Owner of Rébsamen school found guilty of involuntary manslaughter

On Thursday, a Mexican court found Mónica García Villegas, the owner and principal of the Rébsamen school , guilty of involuntary manslaughter against 26 people, 19 of them minors, who lost their lives when the school collapsed during the earthquake registered on September 19, 2017.

However, it will be until next Monday when Mexico City’s Supreme Court of Justice holds a hearing for the individual adjustment of the sentence, which could be of up to 20 years in prison, as requested by some of the relatives of the victims.

“Miss Moni” is the only person convicted for the tragedy of September 19. During the hearing, she addressed the judge and the parents of the children to assert she is innocent and even mentioned that she is another victim of the tragedy for she lost her assets and her reputation.

“I used to be Miss Moni, the one who helped, the one who was there for everyone; now, they have made me seem like the worst person in the world,” she said with tears before knowing the verdict.

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For its part, the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ) requested 57 years of prison against Miss Moni since the evidence presented was compelling to establish the woman did not attend the conditions established by the Construction Regulations and the Law on Urban Development for Mexico City.

Enrique Fuentes, the lawyer of the victims, said in a news briefing last September 11 that Miss Moni had unduly built the fourth floor without following security measures, which caused it to collapse during the earthquake.

“The accused Mónica García Villegas unduly, irresponsibly, and cowardly built another floor since 2016, which made the structure collapse during the earthquake since it did not comply with all the elements required to safeguard the children’s security (…) It is shown in the Public Minister’s accusation that the Mrs. Knew what she was doing was illegal, unduly, irregular, because she did not have the power or the licenses, the authorization to make those modifications to the building,” said the lawyer.

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The legal procedure against García Villegas is about to reach an end after almost three years of the tragedy of September 19, 2017 , and after spending 19 months on the run. It was in March 2019 when Miss Moni was arrested in a restaurant in Tlalpan and taken to the Santa Martha Acatitla prison.

Mexico City’s Prosecutor’s Office (FGJ) has requested Mónica Villegas MXN $1,760,000 as reparation per each victim who died at the Enrique Rébsamen school on September 19, 2017.

This means the accused would have to pay a total of MXN $45,760,000 and, in addition, she would have to wait for the judge in charge of the case to pass sentence.

Miss Moni’s defense will now try to reach an agreement both with the local Prosecutor’s Office and the victims’ families for the amount of money requested is practically “impossible” to pay for the family of the accused.

The court is expected to pass a definitive sentence to the teacher on September 5.

Moreover, Roseondo Gómez, Miss Moni’s lawyer reminded they are still waiting for a judge in civil matters to determine the sum each of the indirect victims will receive, which could be of approximately MXN $350,000.

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