GA Student's Cayman Islands COVID-19 Sentence Reduced

UPDATE: The sentence of a Georgia college student jailed in the Cayman Islands for violating COVID-19 restrictions was reduced Tuesday from four months to two, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Original Patch story

GEORGIA — The fate of a Georgia teen jailed in the Cayman Islands for violating COVID-19 restrictions is in the hands of four judges, who will decide Tuesday if an appeal of her prison sentence can proceed.

Skylar Mack, an 18-year-old college student from Loganville, was jailed on Dec. 15 after the Cayman Islands’ top prosecutor pulled her original, more lenient sentence of a fine and community service. Instead, she was sentenced to four months in jail.

Mack was charged after violating the Caymans’ 14-day COVID-19 quarantine rule for visitors. According to authorities, Mack removed her tracking bracelet and broke quarantine after two days to watch her boyfriend compete in a Jet-Ski event.

“She’s pretty messed up right now,” said Jeanne Mack, Skylar’s grandmother, to WRDW-TV in Augusta. “She’s very sad, very remorseful. She can’t believe she did something like this, and she’s also feeling like she’s been made an example of.”

The grandmother has written to President Donald Trump for help, according to Fox News. In an email, the White House thanked Jeanne Mack for "taking the time to write and share your story with President Donald J. Trump" and that "White House staff reviewed your correspondence and forwarded it to the appropriate Federal agency for further action."

Mack and Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, of the Cayman Islands, were taken to prison after the country's top prosecutor appealed their original sentence of $2,600 and 40 hours each of community service, reported People magazine.

Mack arrived in the Caymans on Nov. 27 and was required by law to have stayed in quarantine for at least 14 days. Instead, she removed her tracking bracelet and left her residence two days later to watch the competition.

Authorities arrested the two after watching them mingle, without masks, among the crowd for more than seven hours, according to Cayman Compass. Mack and Ramgeet, along with four other families, then went into a two-week quarantine, reported the Cayman News Service.

A few days before she was sentenced, Mack issued a public apology in a letter sent to the Compass.

"I am aware that the Cayman Islands government has done nothing but dedicate extreme caution to combat the spread of COVID-19, for this the country and its citizens can be extremely proud; I made a mistake, and words cannot express how sorry I am for this," Mack wrote. "I was afforded the opportunity to enter the islands during these trying times and I abused it. I am humbly asking for the forgiveness of the community."

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