Salvatore “Sam” Anello will serve his sentence in Michigan, where he lives, the government said.
In a statement after the sentence, Anello said he agreed to plead guilty so that he and the girl’s family could focus on a civil case against the cruise company.
Anello was playing with his granddaughter, Chloe Wiegand, aboard the Freedom of the Seas cruise ship docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 7, 2019. Anello “negligently held a minor out of an 11th floor window” , the government said the statement, and Chloe fell 35 meters to her death.
Anello was charged with negligent homicide months after the incident and initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his case as part of a deal with prosecutors, said attorney Michael Winkleman, who represents Chloe’s family but does not represent Anello in his lawsuit criminal.
In a statement on Monday, Anello said: “After this sentence, I feel a mixture of anger and relief. Relief for not serving a prison sentence and for not having to admit any facts. Relief for my family so that we can close this chapter. and move on together. “
He said he always thought that the row of windows where he was with Chloe was a “glass wall”, with no indication that any of the windows might open.
Anello said he “did not commit any crime”, but decided not to contest the charges so as not to have to admit any facts or suffer a significant sentence.
“It was a choice to focus our resources and decide that the best way to tell Chloe’s story and devote our family’s energy was in the civil case.”
He added, “I miss you so much, Chloe.”
According to a statement by Winkleman on Monday, the discovery phase in the family’s civil case against Royal Caribbean has ended and “there is no single piece of evidence to support the argument that Salvatore Anello was aware that the window was open. “.
The trial date is set for April, he said.