Quebec sues culprits for school arson

MONTREAL, May 29 (UPI) -- The Canadian province of Quebec is pursuing a $16.5 million lawsuit against two young school arsonists and their parents to recover damages.

Court records show on Jan. 7, 2001, two teenagers went on an alcohol- and drug-fueled spree and smashed windows at two primary schools, badly damaged nine school buses and finally, torched a high school in Berthierville, about 45 miles northeast of Montreal, The Gazette reported.

Two youths, then 15 and 17, pleaded guilty to vandalism and arson charges that year and served brief sentences in juvenile detention centers, the report said.

However, the provincial government filed a lawsuit against the boys and their parents in 2003 to recover some $11 million in damages, the French-language LCN television network said. In current dollars, the damages are now $16.5 million, LCN said.

The civil court proceedings are scheduled to begin Monday, the report said.

The high school that nearly burned to the ground has since reopened, the newspaper said.