A Canadian man has been handed a prison sentence of nearly two years for stealing a renowned photograph of Sir Winston Churchill, famously titled The Roaring Lion.
Jeffrey Wood admitted to taking the historic print from the Château Laurier hotel in Ottawa sometime between Christmas 2021 and early January 2022.
He also confessed to committing forgery related to the theft.
Captured in 1941 by Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh, the striking image of Churchill, stern-faced and defiant, was taken shortly after he addressed the Canadian parliament.
The portrait, symbolizing resilience during wartime, is so iconic that it appears on the British £5 note.
Authorities said the original photograph resurfaced last year in Genoa, Italy, where it had ended up in the hands of an unsuspecting private collector.
It wasn’t until August 2022 that a hotel employee noticed the original had been swapped for a replica.
Canadian reports revealed that Wood claimed he stole the photo in a desperate attempt to raise money to help his brother, who was battling mental health issues.
During sentencing, Justice Robert Wadden underscored the cultural significance of the portrait.
“It is a point of national pride that a portrait taken by a Canadian photographer would have achieved such fame,” he said.
“There is an element of trust in our society that allows such properties to be displayed, to be enjoyed by all Canadians. To steal, damage and traffic in such property is to breach that trust,” the judge added.
The Château Laurier hotel’s general manager, Geneviève Dumas, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, “We’re very happy to see that Canadian history is recognised.”
Wood’s punishment was set at “two years less a day,” which means he will serve time in a provincial correctional facility rather than a federal penitentiary. His legal counsel described the sentence as “unnecessarily harsh” given that Wood had no prior criminal record.