Judge Dismisses Jury in Sexual Assault Trial of Hockey Players
The judge in charge of the trial of five Canadian hockey players accused of sexual assault dismissed the jury on Friday, following a complaint about laughter from the defense lawyers towards some of the jury members.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will now handle the high-profile case on her own.
The issue arose on Thursday after one of the jurors submitted a note indicating that several members felt they were being judged and laughed at by the lawyers representing one of the defendants as they entered the courtroom each day. The lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, denied the accusation.
Carroccia said he had not seen any behavior that caused him concern, but concluded that the jurors’ negative impression of the defense could affect the impartiality of the jury and was a problem that could not be remedied.
Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton were accused of sexual assault last year after an incident with a then 20-year-old woman that allegedly took place when they were in London for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their championship in that year’s world junior tournament. McLeod faces an additional charge of being party to the offense of sexual assault.
Everyone has pleaded not guilty. None of them are on an NHL roster or have an active contract with a league team.
The woman, who appeared via video transmission from another courtroom, has testified that she was drunk, naked, and scared when the men began entering a hotel room and that she felt she had to go along with what the men wanted her to do. Prosecutors maintain that the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure that she voluntarily consented to the sexual acts.
The defense attorneys have questioned her for days and have suggested that she actively participated in or initiated the sexual activity because she wanted a “wild night.” The woman said that she has no memory of having said those things and that the men should have been able to see that she was not in her right mind.
A police investigation into the incident was closed without charges in 2019. Hockey Canada ordered its own investigation but abandoned it in 2020 after prolonged efforts to get the woman to participate. Those efforts were restarted amid a protest over a settlement reached by Hockey Canada and others with the woman in 2022.
The police announced criminal charges in early 2024, saying they were able to proceed after gathering new evidence that they did not detail.
