Mounties guilty of beating innocent man

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers have been sentenced for beating an innocent man in 2008 northeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Cpl. Jeffrey Thomas Moyse, 42, and Constable Trevor Ens, 31, were found guilty of assault and wrongful arrest last month and sentenced Wednesday, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

The men confronted then 19-year-old Conley Papineau in a parking lot outside a hotel bar and Moyse began beating him, testimony indicated. Ens drove them to a secluded spot where Moyse again beat Papineau.

Moyse, a 16-year veteran with the force, was sentenced to four months in jail and 11-year veteran Ens was given four months of house arrest, the newspaper said.

Ens' sentence was lighter since he didn't hit the victim, but drove the car and did nothing to stop his partner, the judge said.

Prosecutors said they expected appeals to be filed as both officers denied the charges.

Because of that, the RCMP put the pair on desk duty instead of firing them, the Free Press said.