Singer Corneliu Munteanu pleaded guilty to having unknowingly drugged his partner at the time, former academician Meggie Lagacé, with ecstasy, as well as a man. He entered his plea Friday morning at the Montreal courthouse.
In the court room, handcuffed, he declared that he had acted “on impulse”, “without bad intentions”, and without wanting to hurt anyone. He said he was “sincerely sorry” for having harmed his victims.
The judge found him guilty and sentenced him to 100 days in prison.
“No one has the right to take control of your body and your mind. No one has the right to drug you. This is a serious criminal act. Because without consent, it’s no! » declared Meggie Lagacé on Facebook, a few minutes after the conviction.
In the summary of the facts that the accused admitted, it is specified that one evening in August 2013, Mr.me Lagacé returned after work to the home she shared with him. He offered her a rum & coke, insisting that she accompany him to the balcony to drink it. She then experiences various symptoms, feels very unwell, notices that her pupils are dilated and loses all sense of time for hours. She felt great distress for days. When she confronts Corneliu about this, he admits to having put powdered ecstasy in her drink, without really knowing why: it is then that she ends their relationship.
We can now identify Mme Annoyed because the judge lifted on Friday morning, at his request, the publication ban which prevented his name from being written. She was in the courtroom Friday to hear the judge pronounce the word “guilty.” » He is still prohibited from identifying his other victim.
The 40-year-old artist became known for having participated in the second edition of the popular Quebec show Star Academyin 2004. He met singer Meggie Lagacé there and they formed a popular couple for years.
Corneliu was accused in this case in 2022 but the facts date back to 2013 in the case of Mme Lagacé and 2016 for the other victim. In her Facebook message, Meggie Lagacé indicates that she decided, years later, to file a complaint with the police so that no more victims would be made. “I decided to report so that justice can be done and he gets all the help he needs to get treatment. »
Friday morning, Corneliu admitted to having put ecstasy in the drink of Meggie Lagacé, his partner, whom he had met during their joint participation in Star Academy. Then, he also poured ecstasy into a man’s drink during a party in 2016.
The magistrate asked him in the courtroom if he pleaded guilty to having committed these actions.
“Yes, Madam Judge,” he replied, his voice low, while he was in the dock. The man has been detained since the end of November.
“I act on impulse without bad intentions,” he said, reading from his notes. He said he recognized his mistakes and that his actions were “inappropriate.” » The judge praised him for having assumed the guilt of his actions. But she wanted to correct him: your actions were not “inappropriate”, he corrected: they were “illegal and immoral”.
Since he pleaded guilty, there will be no trial.
His lawyer and the Crown prosecutor then made a joint sentence suggestion to the judge: a period of incarceration of 100 days. But considering he already spent weeks in prison before sentencing, he will only have two days left to spend behind bars. He will also have two years of probation and must complete any therapy recommended by his probation officer.