Terminix sentenced for illegal spraying pesticide that sickened Delaware family

The United States government officially sentenced Terminix on Monday for spraying a toxic pesticide that nearly killed a family from Delaware.

The exterminator was also fined $10 million, after the U.S. government says it illegally used methyl bromide at 13 residences, and one resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. That includes the condominium resort complex in St. John where a family of four from Delaware got seriously ill in 2015 after the unit below them was fumigated.

Dr. Theresa Devine, her husband, Steve Esmond, and their two teenage boys were poisoned by methyl bromide. It's been banned from indoor use for years.

Officials say, the chemical left the father and his two teenaged sons either paralyzed or partially paralyzed.

The EPA calls the actions of Terminix illegal and the consequences unacceptable.

As part of the plea recommendation, Terminix will pay $10 million in criminal fines, community service, and restitution payments.

The extermination company has since agreed to stop using the pesticide in the U.S. and its territories.

Some of that money will go to the EPA to continue cleanup of the toxic, life-threatening chemical.

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