Georgia student jailed in Cayman Islands for violating COVID restrictions says 'I deserved it'

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Grandmother of student imprisoned for violating quarantine speaks out

Jeanne Mack joins 'Hannity' to call for lighter punishment for 18-year-old Skylar Mack

The Georgia student who was jailed for just over a month in the Cayman Islands for knowingly violating coronavirus restrictions said "I deserved it," according to media reports. 

Speaking to ABC News, Skylar Mack, 18, a student from Loganville, Ga., admitted to flouting the Caribbean territory's mandatory two-week quarantine period during a November visit. 

"The anger, the disappointment — it's all justified," she said. "I deserved it. I was like, 'You know what? I made this mistake, and it sucks, but you did it to yourself."

Mack, a Mercer University pre-med student, arrived on the island on Nov. 27 and was required to quarantine under Caymanian COVID restriction measures. Two days later, she removed her GPS bracelet and went to watch her boyfriend, Vanjae Ramgeet, 24, a professional jet-ski racer from the Cayman Islands, compete in an event. 

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"I mean, it was a conscious decision of being like, you know what — but I also was just... I don't — I can't give you a good reason for it," Mack said. 

She was detained at the event where she did not wear a mask or practice social distancing, authorities said. Ramgeet was also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting Mack.

The pair was originally sentenced to four months each in prison, 40 hours of community service and $2,600 in fines. The prison sentences were eventually reduced to two months each. Both served 32 days before they were released last week. 

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At one point, Mack's grandmother, Jeanne Mack, reached out to President Trump for assistance. Calls to Mack's family and attorney were not immediately returned.

Mack said she thinks about what could have happened if she would have gotten someone sick. 

"I would have never been able to live with myself. It eats me up," she said.