VIDEO: The captain of the Conception dive boat that caught fire near Santa Cruz Island on Labor Day 2019 is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for criminal negligence in the deaths of all 33 passengers, including two Santa Monica residents, and a crew member.
Jerry Boylan faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
The federal criminal jury in downtown Los Angeles returned its guilty verdict last Nov. 6 on the single charged count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-Civil War law also known as seaman's manslaughter, at the end of the first day of deliberations.
The fire is considered the worst maritime disaster in modern California history.
"This ship captain's unpardonable cowardice led to the deaths of 34 lives," Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement.