Rhéal Séguin

Former Olympic champion Myriam Bedard has been dealt a conditional discharge for breaching a custody order, meaning she will get a criminal record and be subjected to travel restrictions.

Ms. Bedard's lawyers had appealed for an absolute discharge, so that the ex-biathlete could continue travelling to earn a living. The Crown, meanwhile, was asking for a community-based sentence.

Quebec Superior Court Judge Jean-Claude Beaulieu steered a course between the two, putting Ms. Bedard on probation for two years on the conditional discharged.

“Without being a psychiatrist, a psychologist or a doctor, you present all of the characteristics of someone who needs help,” Judge Beaulieu said.

The sentence means Ms. Bedard cannot carry firearms during that time, must surrender her passport and also must tell authorities of all changes of address.

Ms. Bedard was found guilty last month of breaching a custody order involving her 12-year-old daughter.

The ex-biathlete was charged after she went to the United States with the girl last October without the consent of the girl's father and stayed there for nearly three months. The maximum sentence for breaching a child custody order is 10 years in prison.

Judge Beaulieu said Ms. Bedard's actions made it clear she was troubled. In sentencing her, he took into account her age, crime-free history, the 14 days spent in detention leading up to the case, and the media attention the case has attracted.

page mise en ligne par SVP

vélo ski de fond plongeon
Consultez notre ENCYCLOPÉDIE sportive