){kind=small}
View larger image
Former Montreal Canadiens star Guy Lafleur could be fined or receive a sentence to be served in the community. (CP File Photo)
Guy Lafleur gets suspended sentence
Updated: Thu Jun. 18 2009 2:52:31 PM
ctvmontreal.ca
Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur, convicted last month for giving contradictory testimony at his son's bail hearing, received a one year suspended sentence and a fine of $10,000 to go to charity. The fine will go to Dollard Cormier rehab centre.
The judge agreed that Lafleur's drive to protect his son was a mitigating circumstance.
The maximum penalty for the offense is 14 years in jail. The crown was asking for a two-year-less-a-day sentence to be served in the community.
Lafleur's legal troubles began in 2007 after testifying that his son Mark always respected his court-ordered curfew and never consumed drugs and alcohol on his watch. But that was discounted in a subsequent hearing when the court heard the elder Lafleur, 57, drove his son to a hotel for an intimate encounter with a 16-year-old girlfriend on two occasions.
Fighting back
Lafleur has launched a $3.5 million lawsuit against Montreal police and the prosecutor's office, claiming they violated his constitutional rights when they issued an arrest warrant against him last year.
A judge in February agreed that the Crown didn't act properly but refused to have the charges dropped.
Legend
Lafleur, dubbed the Blond Demon and the Flower and lionized for his prolific scoring and outstanding play, was a right-winger who led the Canadiens to five Stanley Cup wins. He's the team's all-time scoring leader with 1,246 points.
The two-time NHL MVP was also named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
