A Stockton mother who lost three children when a dive boat caught fire in 2019, killing 34 people on board, expressed relief following the captain’s conviction, but said the sentence length was too lenient.
Susana Solano Rosas and her daughter, Christina Quitasol, were in a Los Angeles federal courtroom on Thursday when Capt. Jerry Boylan was sentenced to four years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge George H. Wu handed down the sentence after a jury found Boylan guilty of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, also known as “seaman’s manslaughter.”
Three of Rosas’ daughters died when the Conception — a Santa Barbara-based dive boat — caught fire and sank near Santa Cruz Island on Sept. 2, 2019. The sisters, Angela Rose Solano Quitasol, 27; Nicole Storm Solano Quitasol, 31; and Evanmichel Solano Quitasol, 37; had booked the three-day diving trip to celebrate their father’s birthday. Their father, Michael Quitasol, and his wife, Fernisa Sison, also died on board.
“Because the Department of Justice was only charging (Boylan) with one count of manslaughter, the maximum sentence he could get was 10 years, so for him to only get four years (in prison) and three years of supervised visits or probation, it was extremely disappointing,” Rosas said. “It feels like there’s no justice and it feels like our justice system failed us in trying to get some accountability for our children … for any of our 34 loved ones.”