Ex-Quebec police officer sentenced to 8 months for crash that killed 5-year-old
Former provincial police officer Patrick Ouellet has been sentenced to eight months in jail for causing a traffic crash that killed five-year-old Nicholas Thorne-Belance.
Ouellet will also be banned from driving for 20 months.
Quebec court Judge Éric Simard handed down the sentence Tuesday at the Longueuil courthouse.
Ouellet was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death in July, but he is appealing the verdict.
He was released after his sentencing, pending the outcome of his appeal.
In February 2014, he was driving an unmarked police cruiser, tailing a suspect at more than 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone in Saint-Hubert, when he slammed into the side of a car carrying Nicholas, his sister and his father.
Nicholas, who was on his way to school, suffered head trauma in the collision and died later in hospital. His sister and father sustained minor injuries.
At one moment during the hearing, Ouellet put his head in his hands and fought back tears.
Joint recommendation
The sentence didn't come as a surprise — the judge accepted a joint recommendation made by the Crown and the defence.
Defence lawyer Nadine Touma said there are no plans to appeal the verdict, since both sides came together to draw up the suggested sentence.
"It's very hard for a police officer to face jail time. It's going to be very hard on him, so of course, it's a shock."
She said the process, from the time Ouellet was charged to now, also been hard on the police community.
Crown lawyer Geneviève Langlois, referring to Simard's decision, said the sentence was meant to make a statement.
"The incarceration sends a clear message to the police community regarding the criminal behaviour adopted by police officers in the course of their duties," she said.
Nicholas's family did not speak to reporters at the courthouse, but Langlois said they are satisfied with the outcome.
In her victim impact statement, which she read in court last month, Nicholas's mother Stephanie Thorne said her son was charismatic, happy and sweet.
"We have lost a shining star," she said.
Public outcry
Initially, the Crown prosecutor's office (DPCP) did not press charges against Ouellet.
At the time, a spokesperson for the DPCP said all the evidence in the case was taken into consideration before a decision was reached, and it was determined that speeding was not a sufficient reason to lay charges.
The public outrage was swift. Five days later, then-justice minister Stephanie Vallée appointed panel of independent prosecutors, including a retired judge, to look into the case.
Ouellet was charged in May 2015, more than a year after the crash.
He was taken directly to jail following the sentencing hearing.
With files from CBC's Jay Turnbull
