Judge Rules in Sexual Assault Case Involving Former Canadian Hockey Team Players
London, Ontario – An Ontario judge issued her ruling this Thursday in the sexual assault trial against five former members of Canada’s junior hockey team. The magistrate stated that she did not find the complainant’s testimony credible. Superior Court Judge Maria Carroccia stated that the court cannot fulfill its obligation to prove the charges in the case. She is still reading the reasons for her decision and has not officially ruled on the charges against each player. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in an encounter that occurred in a hotel room in London, Ontario, in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of being an accessory to the crime, an unusual application of a charge that is more commonly seen in murder cases. The players, who are now between 25 and 27 years old, were in London at the time for a gala and a golf tournament celebrating their championship victory. Years of speculation about the accusations, fueled by a legal agreement, parliamentary hearings and investigations revived by the police and Hockey Canada, along with an NHL investigation, preceded a complex trial earlier this year that included a mistrial and the dismissal of the jury, leaving the verdict to Carroccia. The woman testified in May that she was naked, drunk, and scared when four of the men unexpectedly appeared in her room at the Delta Hotel London Armouries and felt that the only “safe” option was to do what they wanted. Prosecutors argued that the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure that she voluntarily consented to the sexual acts.The defense lawyers questioned her for days and suggested that she actively participated in or initiated the sexual activity because she wanted a “wild night.” Two short videos of the complainant taken by McLeod on the night of the encounter were played in court. In one, the woman says it was “all consensual,” although she told the court that was not how she really felt. Protestants gathered in front of a London court filled on Thursday morning, holding signs showing support for the whistleblower. The players’ identities were made public when they were accused in early 2024. At that time, four of them were playing in the NHL: Dube for the Calgary Flames, Hart for the Philadelphia Flyers, and McLeod and Foote for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton had previously played for the Ottawa Senators before joining a Swiss team. All took an indefinite leave of absence, and none are on an NHL roster or have an active contract with a league team. The NHL launched its own investigation in 2022. Officials promised to release the findings, although Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February that would depend on what the league can say given legal proceedings.I made the choice to dance with them and drink at the bar, I did not make the choice for them to do what they did at the hotel.
Testimony of the complainant
