A Canadian man has been sentenced to almost two years in prison for stealing a famous photograph of Sir Winston Churchill known as “The Roaring Lion”.
Jeffrey Wood had pled guilty to stealing the original print from Ottawa’s Château Laurier hotel between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022.
He also admitted committing forgery.
Ottawa Police said it was found last year in Italy in the possession of a private buyer, who was unaware that it was stolen.
The image depicts a frowning Churchill, who was 67 at the time, shortly after he delivered a speech to the Canadian parliament.
The photograph was noticed to be missing in August 2022 when a hotel staff realized the original had been replaced with a fake.
Wood was sentenced to “two years less a day”, a distinction which means he will serve his sentence in a provincial institution instead of a federal prison.
