U.S. teen jailed for violating isolation in the Cayman Islands

An American teen Was imprisoned For transgression in the Cayman Islands COVID-19 His lawyer said Tuesday that the restrictions would only be in place after two months. Skylar Mack, a 21-year-old college student, was arrested on Nov. 29 for allegedly violating her boyfriend’s jet ski competition.

Mack and her boyfriend Vanche Ramjeet were initially sentenced to four months in prison, but their sentence was reduced to two months in the Court of Appeals on Tuesday, lawyer Jonathan Hughes told CBS News.

Hughes said the appellate court agreed that the four-month sentence was “not appropriate” given the circumstances of the case. “While we are hopeful that Skyler will be able to return home to continue his studies in January, we accept the court’s ruling and look forward to receiving its written reasons in a timely manner,” Hughes said in a statement.

Mac, a pre-med student at Mercer University in Georgia, flew to Grand Cayman on November 27. Hughes said he was ordered isolated for 14 days and given a smart watch and cellphone to track his movements. Mack signed a document agreeing not to leave his secluded place without permission and not to remove his watch.

Two days later, he was spotted competing in a jet skiing with Ramjeet, who lives in the Cayman Islands. Mack was not seen wearing his watch, and they both complained to the local police and were taken to a forced isolation facility.

On Dec. 4, Mack was charged with leaving his home during a period of forced isolation, and Ramjeet was accused of aiding and abetting him, Hughes said. Later that day, they were both offered 40 hours of community service and each fined 6,600.

Prosecutors appealed the sentence. The Cayman Islands Grand Court agreed and the young couple was sentenced to four months in prison. Hughes says he should be released in about 4 weeks because he has already served 1 week.

Judge Roger Chappell explained his decision at a December 15 hearing. “This is an unimaginable violation; it was made of selfishness and arrogance,” Chappell said. Cayman Compass Newspaper. “It was completely deliberate and planned that the day before she was able to remove her watch, as evidenced by her willingness to move it to a looser place.”

His family has condemned the four-month sentence, saying he was treated unfairly and called on the Trump administration to intervene. His father, Dennis Mack, said he did not know why someone had taken a “personal sale” against his daughter. “We are at the mercy of another country,” he said CBS affiliate WGCL.

There are the Cayman Islands Announced 316 positive corona virus cases. More than 280 patients have recovered, while two residents have died.