Canada World Junior Investigation: Several Hockey Canada players sexually assaulted a young woman at a celebration celebrating their championship run in London, Ontario. Monday is London Police’s first public address since charging five members.
The court documents obtained by The Athletic reveal that Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote, and Dillon Dube are facing charges of one count of sexual. Additionally, McLeod faces an additional charge of sexual assault. There will be court appearances by those five players on Monday, but it is unclear whether they will appear personally or if their attorneys will be present.
In public statements, Hart, Formenton, McLeod, Foote, and Dube have acknowledged the charges and denied wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, a young woman referred to as E.M. filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada. After the settlement was announced in May 2022, it faced intense scrutiny for handling the allegations. In response to the news, the federal government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, held parliamentary hearings and condemned the action.
In response to public outcry and national interest in the case, the London Police Service reopened its investigation into the alleged incident, which began immediately following the alleged incident. The initial criminal inquiry was completed in February of this year.
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In a court filing from 2022, The Globe and Mail reported on London Police’s renewed investigation efforts. Using this information, the police obtained judicial authorization for a search warrant and multiple production orders for five players, whose names were redacted.
Taking a global view of the evidence, I believe E.M. believed she had no other alternative than to commit specific acts of sex. Furthermore, I believe each of the suspects was aware that E.M. had not consented,” Sgt. David Younan argued in the application.
Initially, E.M. claimed that eight of the players assaulted her in a hotel room in London, Ont., over several hours. In her statement, she explained that she had met the group at a local bar that night and willingly stayed with one of the players. According to her, she engaged in consensual sex with that player, but several of his teammates entered the hotel room without her consent. During the subsequent sexual contact and acts, she alleges that someone spit on her, slapped her on the buttocks, laughed at her, and degraded her without her consent. She initially stated that she cried in the bathroom and wanted to leave, but multiple players coaxed her to remain in the hotel. In her opinion, she felt physically intimidated and unable to leave the room due to several of them having golf clubs in their rooms.
Based on a court filing from 2022, police believed up to 12 players may have been involved in, witnessed, or possibly had information about the alleged incident. During police interview, E.M. claimed players instructed her to lie on the floor during sex acts, placing a bed sheet beneath her. The group was making fun of and laughing at her expense, E.M. said. According to her, the men were talking around her and about her, but not with her. They were making statements such as “You do this, and you do that.”.
Her initial partner was eating chicken wings during specific sex acts (redacted).
The same player asked E.M. before she left the room, “You are not going to the police?””
Following the police report about the alleged incident, that player texted E.M. Stills reviewed by police indicate the player said, “I wasn’t expecting everyone else to come after.”.
As long as she continues to make misrepresentations, it will affect many people, including you, in the long run. What can you do to resolve this issue?”
The police interviewed several players, received written statements from others, and found a group chat for the world junior team. The police also received numerous thumb drives with text messages related to the group chat. E.M.’s Uber driver was identified and located.
The London Police have yet to provide any additional details regarding their investigation and charges.
A trial is unlikely due to the complexity and sensitivity of the case and the significant court backlog.
It is Hart, McLeod, Foote, and Dube who have taken time off, all NHL players. These four players are on personal leave from their team in Switzerland. Formenton previously played for the Ottawa Senators, and he is also on a leave of absence from his team.
According to Gary Bettman, the NHL will not take any action until the legal process is complete. Additionally, Bettman indicated that he is reluctant to release any findings before resolving the case.
As a result, Bettman explained, we should wait until the judicial process concludes before responding.
As part of the league’s investigation, the NHL Players’ Association has provided guidance and representation to players.
Marty Walsh, the union boss, said that the investigation will now proceed to court. I intend to leave it there and see how it goes. Throughout my career, people have advised me to remain silent when someone faces charges.
In the wake of the lawsuit becoming public, Hockey Canada has declined to comment on the impending charges.
Due to Hockey Canada’s mishandling of the allegations, it overhauled much of its leadership team, building up multiple cash reserves. The organization has also appoint a new board of directors and CEO, and joined the federal agency Abuse-Free Sport. Throughout July 2023, Nike announced that they were ending their sponsorship of Hockey Canada, which dates back to 1999.
After initially investigating the incident with Henein Hutchison (now Henein Hutchison Robitaille), Hockey Canada reopened the inquiry in July 2022. In November 2023, someone informed the CHL governors that someone had violated the CHL’s code of conduct. Hockey Canada stated that an undisclosed party appealed the findings.
The appeal is pending, so Hockey Canada declined to publish any findings due to its integrity.
Hockey Canada’s 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship team cannot compete internationally until they resolve the issue.
The statement states that Team Canada will complete the investigation and adjudication process. Additionally, they shared this information with the IIHF World Management Team.
