‘Seaman’s manslaughter’: Boat captain who abandoned ship as 34 died in inferno sentenced for ‘cowardice’ and ‘repeated failures’

Background: YouTube screengrab from KCAL shows the Conception boat after it was engulfed in flames in 2019, killing 34./Inset: Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Background: YouTube screengrab from KCAL shows the Conception boat after it was engulfed in flames in 2019, killing 34./Inset: Defendant Jerry Boylan, captain of the Conception, leaves federal court in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

For the surviving family members of those who died aboard the dive boat Conception in 2019 as it became a raging inferno off the coast of California, its onetime captain, Jerry Boylan, had only a few words to deliver through his attorney at his sentencing hearing this week: “I failed. I am so sorry.”

Boylan, 70, was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

“The defendant’s cowardice and repeated failures caused the horrific deaths of 34 people,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said Thursday. “The victims’ families will be forever devastated by this needless tragedy. While today’s sentence cannot fully heal their wounds, we hope that our efforts to hold this defendant criminally accountable brings some measure of healing to the families.”

Boylan was found guilty by a jury last November of one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer. This offense is commonly called “seaman’s manslaughter,” according to prosecutors.

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