The state-run children's home outside the capital Guatemala City was at the time of the fire believed to have housed almost twice as many young people as it has capacity for. At the same time, there were several allegations of sexual abuse and other malpractices.
They served food to the teenagers when some of them set fire to a mattress, and that's how the fire started, said Abner Paredes, a lawyer working with children's rights, after the fire.
The doors to the children's home were then locked, to prevent the girls from escaping.
The events shocked Guatemala and large protests broke out in the country.
The accused persons are all sentenced for various crimes, including abuse of power and causing another person's death, to between 6 and 25 years in prison.
