Canadian rugby killer spared prison

BAMPTON, Ontario, July 6 (UPI) -- The Toronto-area high school rugby player who fatally injured an opponent with a vicious hit during a game avoided prison time Monday.

The youth, now 18, whose name has not been revealed, was sentenced in Brampton, Ontario, to one year of probation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. Justice Bruce Duncan also was ordered the teenager to perform community service and to take anger management classes.

The teenager was convicted of manslaughter in May in the death of Lorne Park high school rugby player Manny Castillo, 15, who died a few days after being injured in May 2007. It came out at trial that the teen lifted Castillo into the air, turned him and slammed him head first into the ground.