
Letters from a predator: The chilling words of a man who turns his wife into a doll
Warning: This story contains graphic details and allegations of sexual assault.
This article is part of an ongoing W5 investigation that has infiltrated a global online network of men who are secretly drugging, raping, filming and sharing the videos of their unsuspecting wives and intimate partners.
He signed every email with warmth. 'Best wishes,' 'Friendly, David,' or just a winking smile. His messages were polite, composed, sometimes even charming. But line by line, he revealed something else entirely: the mindset of a man who systematically drugs and rapes his own wife; a man who wanted to be my mentor so I could learn how to carry out the same sickening crime.
For weeks, David shared his secrets with me, not knowing I was an undercover journalist.
He believed I was a kindred spirit. What he gave me wasn't just evidence of a crime. It was a rare, disturbing window into evil.
'Your doll will do everything you want'
David spoke about his wife not as a woman, but as an object. A doll. A canvas. A toy. He described how he prepared her, how he waited for her breathing to change, the signal that she was no longer aware, no longer present.
From: ██████
Date: On Sun, May 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM
To: ██████
It's not just an impression, in fact, about our common points! I shudder with pleasure ██████ of offering ██████ my wife's body, (transformed into an inanimate object, she belongs to everyone, it's the basic principle, she is no longer a person, really more than a tool of which we use each part to stimulate our desires without 'almost' any limits)
My wife has developed a certain resistance to ██████ I think that treating her with ████████████ would be the minimum for her case... I should point out! I'm not afraid to push things further with her. This woman has a strong build, and you should know that even █████████████████ is not enough to dive sufficiently for my taste to enjoy it 100%. Keep me informed after your attempt, and don't hesitate to take screenshots with your camera... see you soon! Kind regards, David
He emphasized control, even in the smallest details.
He described how he used lighting and music to create 'an atmosphere of warmth and intimacy,' and noted that it was important that his wife looked 'sexy and relaxed' as she lay sedated.
In any case what really motivated me to take action was the desire for possession, when possession takes hold of you you cannot resist its call, you just have to control your mind about it and be careful about what you give, █████████████████████ this will amplify these moments, just it will be stronger...and will allow you all (or almost) the fantasies that you have always wanted to realize with her to do so...
You see as you say a man who knows what he is doing, well just know that you can do exactly the same thing simply, do it kindly and carefully as I explained to you with ████████████
Have confidence in your ability to do it, you have nothing to be ashamed of, because you are like me a divergent, on the contrary be proud of your difference! It requires more difficulty to achieve than the easy and banal classic practice, certainly, but the reward in sensation will be so powerful x 1000, the pleasure which will free your head will be so strong, that afterwards you will wonder why you waited so long before doing it!
Canadian criminal profiler, Jim Van Allen, who analyzed my email conversations, says this emphasis on domination and objectification is characteristic of drug-facilitated sexual assault offenders. 'He's a narcissistic type of person... motivated by sexually deviant desires and needs…to dominate.'
What makes David so dangerous isn't only what he does, it's how he thinks about it. He never frames himself as violent or abusive. Instead, he calls himself divergent. Not a criminal, but misunderstood. Not evil, just 'different.'
From: ██████
Date: On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Subject: Fw: Re: Explication et recommandation
To: ██████
Dear ██████, consider me as your trusted friend, because even if we have never met, we share the same need in our sexuality, and have no one to be able to talk about it, at least no one who can accept what I call our deviant sexuality, an appropriate term, rather than 'abnormal' or 'crazy' as unfortunately many narrow-minded people say... I even went to see a psychologist specialized in the issue, and in addition doctor, on this subject to discuss it with my wife... the psychologist admits that we may need to take pleasure in our own way (but as a doctor cannot accept that we must sedate our partner) My wife refuses to lend herself voluntarily and so I do without her agreement! As simple as that... Doctors wrongly think that there is a health risk in doing this practice. I refute it, being a practitioner for more than 20 years on sedation I have never endangered the women in question.
As I told you, I can't speak the same way for drugs like ██████. Because there, the line is thinner between deep sleep and coma, that's my friend, why you should be careful about the dosage ████████████. The product that should ideally be used for us is ████████████ it acts in less than a minute ██████████████████....But we don't have access to this type of product without risk and 100% effective for direct deep sleep! Unless you are a ██████ There you go...Who knows ██████ what the future holds for us, but don't be ashamed of your needs, you are not alone. Good luck, I await your news and see you soon. D.
'They justify, they rationalize what they do,' Van Allen explained. 'They minimize what they've done to people.' Van Allen says this is a common psychological defense, a way predators preserve a positive self-image while continuing their crimes.
That rationalization ran through every one of David's messages. He wasn't just confessing, he was teaching. Encouraging. Offering me detailed instructions and techniques and expressing delight at the idea of me joining him to 'share' his unconscious wife, as a bonding experience between men who 'understand' each other.
From: ██████
Date: On Sun, May 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Subject: ██████
To: ██████
Dear ██████, I'm really glad that it's possible for you to come and stay here in ██████ this summer, ██████████████████████████████, but to be able to ensure this total takeover of ██████, I insist that we meet a few days ██████████████████ which I am 100% certain will allow us to realize together all our mutual desires....it will be enough for me to come to your hotel you find in your room ██████████████████ I know that by dint of seeing her you really want it....and I will be really fulfilled by this sharing between us, despite what you have been able to see on the video extracts, the control is not total despite my rather strong doses....██████████████████....it is not 100% manipulable....████████████...and once I have made sure of her deep coma, you can join me without risk for our common sharing.
When do you say? ████████████████████████.....I can already imagine administering your product in a glass of wine or spirits to my female dog of a wife...and a few moments later once unconscious, preparing her for your arrival, dressed sexy....French manicure as possible...and putting her on the sofa with a good bottle in her hands, thighs spread while waiting for you...finally transformed into a toy for our pure pleasure.....tell me what you plan to do, while waiting for your news, my best feelings for you, David;-)
From:
Date: On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Subject: ██████ Passion commune
To: ██████
My dear ████████████████████████████████████ we'll have to make do with the time you have available once you arrive in ██████. I hope you'll understand that it's the best thing for both of us. With my best regards, your friend David ;-)
PS: The next ██████ party (limp play special^^) is already tonight, too bad you missed it, but it will be for the next one. Don't worry, just be patient, see you soon my friend.
According to Van Allen, this escalation indicates a complete breakdown of empathy and morality. He said it shows not only a willingness to harm, but a desire to celebrate and expand the abuse.
'That just goes to show you… that there's an anti-social component going on in this individual's personality. That this is a disregard for his wife's rights, her safety, her sexual integrity... a total betrayal of that.'
A private horror, hidden in plain sight
In everyday life, David works multiple jobs. He talks about financial stresses. There's no outward sign of the secret he's keeping. But Van Allen says that's common.
'We refer to it as having a social mask. We only present… what we want them to see about ourselves. And there are times when we remove the social mask, let our hair down and we're more of who we are.'
David's pride in his deception is palpable. He often marvels at how his wife has never suspected anything. That secrecy, Van Allen said, becomes its own source of gratification.
██████ you must actually make sure that you have all the ideal conditions. That is to say that she should ████████████████████████ because the 3rd method will actually completely erase her recent memory, she will be much more sensitive to the drug, after passing through ██████, she will be deeply, really deeply asleep, and will have no memory of what happened during the night. Your alibi will be good, as for the possible negative effects...possible fatigue still upon waking...otherwise the ██████ is really perfect.
Listen, you should not be ashamed of your failures ████████████ It's about your balance in your sexuality that you need to satisfy just like me!
You see a good example recently last Saturday, I drugged my wife, I made her take about
██████████████████████████████ (And my wife asked me in the morning if we had made love, she didn't remember and without surprise, I told her: 'normal darling, ██████ If she ever has questions in the morning now. There you go, it's up to you to ask yourself what you want to do at that level. Courage... Result of this night I had a lot of fun with my wife transformed into a toy....to see on the site...keep me informed...be patient and do it step by step...friendly, D.
'There's narcissism here,' Van Allen explained.
''I'm so clever, I'm getting away with this.' '
Why victims don't know
Men who commit these crimes often go undetected for years, even decades, because their partners would never imagine their ailments are connected to the man they love. The drugs used do more than sedate; they erase memory, induce confusion, and inhibit the formation of new memories. The objective isn't merely unconsciousness, but complete silence.
Gisèle Pelicot's recent case in France, exemplifies this harrowing reality. Over nearly a decade, her husband secretly drugged her and facilitated her rape by dozens of men. Gisèle experienced alarming health issues: significant memory lapses, extreme fatigue, hair loss, and unexplained gynecological symptoms. She never connected the physical ailments to what her husband was secretly doing.
Canadian criminal profiler Jim Van Allen says these predators are often charismatic and manipulative. 'You're going to wake up with an unusual loss of memory that's not explained by the context. You might be gaslighted... 'Oh, of course you don't remember what went on, you drank way too much, you mixed four different types of alcohol.''
Van Allen listed red flags women should be aware of:
Unusual loss of memory/difficulty creating new memories
Feeling nauseated or woozy
Sexual pain or discomfort in the mornings
Problematic or illogical alibis after memory blackouts
Repeated experiences of the above that don't match normal sexual activity
'Ain't no pill gonna cure this ill'
David refers to himself as an 'expert' with 20 years of experience sedating women. But he's no doctor. The consequences of his confidence could be deadly. Van Allen says the emotional consequences, when a woman finds out she has been betrayed are catastrophic.
'We're talking about complete trauma , betrayal, confusion, grief, a shattered sense of safety, possibly for life,' Van Allen said.
Men like this don't stop. They have to be stopped. Van Allen explains that this kind of crime is repetitive and fantasy-driven and compulsive.
'Ain't no pill gonna cure this ill…. behind bars is going to stop it.'
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CTV News
11 hours ago
- CTV News
Letters from a predator: The chilling words of a man who turns his wife into a doll
Warning: This story contains graphic details and allegations of sexual assault. This article is part of an ongoing W5 investigation that has infiltrated a global online network of men who are secretly drugging, raping, filming and sharing the videos of their unsuspecting wives and intimate partners. He signed every email with warmth. 'Best wishes,' 'Friendly, David,' or just a winking smile. His messages were polite, composed, sometimes even charming. But line by line, he revealed something else entirely: the mindset of a man who systematically drugs and rapes his own wife; a man who wanted to be my mentor so I could learn how to carry out the same sickening crime. For weeks, David shared his secrets with me, not knowing I was an undercover journalist. He believed I was a kindred spirit. What he gave me wasn't just evidence of a crime. It was a rare, disturbing window into evil. 'Your doll will do everything you want' David spoke about his wife not as a woman, but as an object. A doll. A canvas. A toy. He described how he prepared her, how he waited for her breathing to change, the signal that she was no longer aware, no longer present. From: ██████ Date: On Sun, May 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM To: ██████ It's not just an impression, in fact, about our common points! I shudder with pleasure ██████ of offering ██████ my wife's body, (transformed into an inanimate object, she belongs to everyone, it's the basic principle, she is no longer a person, really more than a tool of which we use each part to stimulate our desires without 'almost' any limits) My wife has developed a certain resistance to ██████ I think that treating her with ████████████ would be the minimum for her case... I should point out! I'm not afraid to push things further with her. This woman has a strong build, and you should know that even █████████████████ is not enough to dive sufficiently for my taste to enjoy it 100%. Keep me informed after your attempt, and don't hesitate to take screenshots with your camera... see you soon! Kind regards, David He emphasized control, even in the smallest details. He described how he used lighting and music to create 'an atmosphere of warmth and intimacy,' and noted that it was important that his wife looked 'sexy and relaxed' as she lay sedated. In any case what really motivated me to take action was the desire for possession, when possession takes hold of you you cannot resist its call, you just have to control your mind about it and be careful about what you give, █████████████████████ this will amplify these moments, just it will be will allow you all (or almost) the fantasies that you have always wanted to realize with her to do so... You see as you say a man who knows what he is doing, well just know that you can do exactly the same thing simply, do it kindly and carefully as I explained to you with ████████████ Have confidence in your ability to do it, you have nothing to be ashamed of, because you are like me a divergent, on the contrary be proud of your difference! It requires more difficulty to achieve than the easy and banal classic practice, certainly, but the reward in sensation will be so powerful x 1000, the pleasure which will free your head will be so strong, that afterwards you will wonder why you waited so long before doing it! Canadian criminal profiler, Jim Van Allen, who analyzed my email conversations, says this emphasis on domination and objectification is characteristic of drug-facilitated sexual assault offenders. 'He's a narcissistic type of person... motivated by sexually deviant desires and needs…to dominate.' What makes David so dangerous isn't only what he does, it's how he thinks about it. He never frames himself as violent or abusive. Instead, he calls himself divergent. Not a criminal, but misunderstood. Not evil, just 'different.' From: ██████ Date: On Thu, May 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM Subject: Fw: Re: Explication et recommandation To: ██████ Dear ██████, consider me as your trusted friend, because even if we have never met, we share the same need in our sexuality, and have no one to be able to talk about it, at least no one who can accept what I call our deviant sexuality, an appropriate term, rather than 'abnormal' or 'crazy' as unfortunately many narrow-minded people say... I even went to see a psychologist specialized in the issue, and in addition doctor, on this subject to discuss it with my wife... the psychologist admits that we may need to take pleasure in our own way (but as a doctor cannot accept that we must sedate our partner) My wife refuses to lend herself voluntarily and so I do without her agreement! As simple as that... Doctors wrongly think that there is a health risk in doing this practice. I refute it, being a practitioner for more than 20 years on sedation I have never endangered the women in question. As I told you, I can't speak the same way for drugs like ██████. Because there, the line is thinner between deep sleep and coma, that's my friend, why you should be careful about the dosage ████████████. The product that should ideally be used for us is ████████████ it acts in less than a minute ██████████████████....But we don't have access to this type of product without risk and 100% effective for direct deep sleep! Unless you are a ██████ There you knows ██████ what the future holds for us, but don't be ashamed of your needs, you are not alone. Good luck, I await your news and see you soon. D. 'They justify, they rationalize what they do,' Van Allen explained. 'They minimize what they've done to people.' Van Allen says this is a common psychological defense, a way predators preserve a positive self-image while continuing their crimes. That rationalization ran through every one of David's messages. He wasn't just confessing, he was teaching. Encouraging. Offering me detailed instructions and techniques and expressing delight at the idea of me joining him to 'share' his unconscious wife, as a bonding experience between men who 'understand' each other. From: ██████ Date: On Sun, May 25, 2025 at 3:47 PM Subject: ██████ To: ██████ Dear ██████, I'm really glad that it's possible for you to come and stay here in ██████ this summer, ██████████████████████████████, but to be able to ensure this total takeover of ██████, I insist that we meet a few days ██████████████████ which I am 100% certain will allow us to realize together all our mutual will be enough for me to come to your hotel you find in your room ██████████████████ I know that by dint of seeing her you really want I will be really fulfilled by this sharing between us, despite what you have been able to see on the video extracts, the control is not total despite my rather strong doses....██████████████████....it is not 100% manipulable....████████████...and once I have made sure of her deep coma, you can join me without risk for our common sharing. When do you say? ████████████████████████.....I can already imagine administering your product in a glass of wine or spirits to my female dog of a a few moments later once unconscious, preparing her for your arrival, dressed manicure as putting her on the sofa with a good bottle in her hands, thighs spread while waiting for transformed into a toy for our pure me what you plan to do, while waiting for your news, my best feelings for you, David;-) From: Date: On Wed, May 28, 2025 at 10:49 AM Subject: ██████ Passion commune To: ██████ My dear ████████████████████████████████████ we'll have to make do with the time you have available once you arrive in ██████. I hope you'll understand that it's the best thing for both of us. With my best regards, your friend David ;-) PS: The next ██████ party (limp play special^^) is already tonight, too bad you missed it, but it will be for the next one. Don't worry, just be patient, see you soon my friend. According to Van Allen, this escalation indicates a complete breakdown of empathy and morality. He said it shows not only a willingness to harm, but a desire to celebrate and expand the abuse. 'That just goes to show you… that there's an anti-social component going on in this individual's personality. That this is a disregard for his wife's rights, her safety, her sexual integrity... a total betrayal of that.' A private horror, hidden in plain sight In everyday life, David works multiple jobs. He talks about financial stresses. There's no outward sign of the secret he's keeping. But Van Allen says that's common. 'We refer to it as having a social mask. We only present… what we want them to see about ourselves. And there are times when we remove the social mask, let our hair down and we're more of who we are.' David's pride in his deception is palpable. He often marvels at how his wife has never suspected anything. That secrecy, Van Allen said, becomes its own source of gratification. ██████ you must actually make sure that you have all the ideal conditions. That is to say that she should ████████████████████████ because the 3rd method will actually completely erase her recent memory, she will be much more sensitive to the drug, after passing through ██████, she will be deeply, really deeply asleep, and will have no memory of what happened during the night. Your alibi will be good, as for the possible negative fatigue still upon the ██████ is really perfect. Listen, you should not be ashamed of your failures ████████████ It's about your balance in your sexuality that you need to satisfy just like me! You see a good example recently last Saturday, I drugged my wife, I made her take about ██████████████████████████████ (And my wife asked me in the morning if we had made love, she didn't remember and without surprise, I told her: 'normal darling, ██████ If she ever has questions in the morning now. There you go, it's up to you to ask yourself what you want to do at that level. Courage... Result of this night I had a lot of fun with my wife transformed into a see on the me patient and do it step by D. 'There's narcissism here,' Van Allen explained. ''I'm so clever, I'm getting away with this.' ' Why victims don't know Men who commit these crimes often go undetected for years, even decades, because their partners would never imagine their ailments are connected to the man they love. The drugs used do more than sedate; they erase memory, induce confusion, and inhibit the formation of new memories. The objective isn't merely unconsciousness, but complete silence. Gisèle Pelicot's recent case in France, exemplifies this harrowing reality. Over nearly a decade, her husband secretly drugged her and facilitated her rape by dozens of men. Gisèle experienced alarming health issues: significant memory lapses, extreme fatigue, hair loss, and unexplained gynecological symptoms. She never connected the physical ailments to what her husband was secretly doing. Canadian criminal profiler Jim Van Allen says these predators are often charismatic and manipulative. 'You're going to wake up with an unusual loss of memory that's not explained by the context. You might be gaslighted... 'Oh, of course you don't remember what went on, you drank way too much, you mixed four different types of alcohol.'' Van Allen listed red flags women should be aware of: Unusual loss of memory/difficulty creating new memories Feeling nauseated or woozy Sexual pain or discomfort in the mornings Problematic or illogical alibis after memory blackouts Repeated experiences of the above that don't match normal sexual activity 'Ain't no pill gonna cure this ill' David refers to himself as an 'expert' with 20 years of experience sedating women. But he's no doctor. The consequences of his confidence could be deadly. Van Allen says the emotional consequences, when a woman finds out she has been betrayed are catastrophic. 'We're talking about complete trauma , betrayal, confusion, grief, a shattered sense of safety, possibly for life,' Van Allen said. Men like this don't stop. They have to be stopped. Van Allen explains that this kind of crime is repetitive and fantasy-driven and compulsive. 'Ain't no pill gonna cure this ill…. behind bars is going to stop it.' More from this series:


CBC
14 hours ago
- CBC
A timeline of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial and memorable moments
WARNING: This article contains graphic details, references sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone impacted by it. The sexual assault trial of five former world junior hockey players stretched across three months in London, Ont., before finally coming to a close June 2 with the last witness. Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote and Carter Hart have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges stemming from their time at a hotel in London, where they attended a Hockey Canada gala in June 2018 to celebrate their team's world championship. E.M., the complainant whose identity is protected under a standard publication ban, was 20 years old at the time. A lot has happened over the last six weeks, so as lawyers on both sides begin their closing submissions Monday, here's a week-by-week rundown of key moments and testimony. See all of CBC's coverage of the trial. Week of April 22: The mistrial The long-awaited trial began with a false start, which in some ways set the tone for what would be a long six weeks mired in technical arguments and voir dires. Indeed, what played out along the edges of the case itself often threatened to upstage the serious matters of the charges being tried. Scarcely had court started to hear from the first Crown witness, London Police Service Det. Tiffany Waque, when a lunchtime interaction derailed the whole thing. One of Formenton's lawyers, Hilary Dudding, was at the Covent Garden Market — a few blocks from the courthouse and a popular spot for lunch. Dudding and a juror had differing accounts of the brief interaction that sparked concern among the defence teams. Dudding's legal partner, Daniel Brown, vouched for the lawyer's professionalism and insisted it was an innocuous encounter. The juror appeared to feel otherwise when questioned by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia. Amidst fears of a tainted jury, and after hearing arguments from both sides, Carroccia ruled a mistrial. The jury was discharged the morning of Friday, April 25, but arrangements were in place to empanel a second jury before the end of the day. Week of April 28: New jury, new trial With a new jury in place after the mistrial, the Crown gave its opening statement a second time before calling Waque to testify once again. This time, the detective got through her evidence, which included surveillance footage of Jack's, the bar where E.M. and the hockey players first met, and the Delta hotel in London. It also included text messages from McLeod to the team inviting them to a "3 way," and two videos from McLeod's phone in which he asks E.M. if she is OK with what is happening or consented to the acts that had already happened. Much of the early weeks of the trial were hamstrung by technical gremlins, an inability to play or view evidence through the monitors and connectivity issues with witnesses. Outside the courtroom, non-working elevators complicated getting the jurors and defence teams into place. After Waque's testimony ended, the Crown called former world junior player Taylor Raddysh, who was in the middle of a Stanley Cup playoff run with the Washington Capitals. Raddysh, testifying remotely, was unable to recall much about that night, telling the Crown he was briefly in Delta hotel Room 209 (McLeod's room) but couldn't remember much about E.M. Raddysh said he went to bed, but his roommate, Brett Howden, woke him up, slamming the hotel door. Raddysh testified he also received a text message from McLeod inviting him to Room 209 for "a gummer," which he said he understood to be oral sex, but couldn't remember when he came across that text message or even if he saw it that night. Raddysh wrapped up that Friday. The same morning, people supporting E.M. had started to appear outside the courthouse with signs, chanting at the accused as they walked in. Next to testify was another former world junior teammate, Boris Katchouk, who was also briefly in 209 with Raddysh that night. Katchouk said he had a short interaction with E.M. in the room — he had a slice of pizza and she asked for a bite, but he didn't share it. Court heard McLeod asked him if he'd like "a gummer," but Katchouk said he ignored the offer, and he was drunk and wanted to go to bed. On the afternoon of Friday, May 2, E.M. began what would be marathon testimony from another room in the courthouse, with her image shown in the main courtroom via closed-circuit television (CCTV). Court heard for the first time how E.M. was of two minds about even going out that night, and how she rushed home from work, got dressed, picked up a friend and arrived at Jack's bar to meet work colleagues. E.M. spoke about meeting McLeod and an older "wing man" who was talking up the player to her, and about feeling uncomfortable "sandwiched" between players on the dance floor, and drunk and "out of it" when she left Jack's bar with McLeod. She said she accepted she was going to go back with McLeod because they had been close all night. Week of May 5: E.M. cross-examination E.M. started her week where she left off, testifying about going to McLeod's hotel room, where they initially had consensual sex. Then, in graphic detail, she described the alleged sexual assaults in the room. E.M. also spoke of being surprised and confused when other men started arriving. E.M. said the men put a bed sheet on the floor and told her to lie on it and masturbate. She spoke to being scared, humiliated and even being spat on. She recalled being slapped hard on her buttocks, of men putting their penises in her face, and that she cried. She also testified some of the players mused about whether she could put golf balls or a golf club in her vagina. WATCH | Detective in reopened world junior hockey case wraps testimony: Testimony wraps up at world junior hockey sexual assault trial 4 days ago Duration 2:00 Testimony has concluded at the sexual assault trial for five former world junior hockey players, with only one defendant taking the stand. Closing arguments in the case will begin June 9. McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey, was the first to cross-examine E.M. He introduced the defence's counter-narrative, suggesting E.M. wanted "a wild night" and she was the one who pressed McLeod to invite men into the room for sex. Megan Savard, lawyer for Hart, had turbulent interactions with E.M. as she mined discrepancies between earlier accounts of the allegations given to police and Hockey Canada, and her testimony. Savard suggested E.M. made up the allegations because she was guilty about cheating on her boyfriend. That Wednesday court hearing abruptly ended with the complainant in tears. She returned the next day noticeably steelier in her responses to Savard. Brown, Formenton's lawyer, raised the ire of advocates and the Crown when he suggested E.M. had an "alter ego" he called "fun" E.M. when she drank (In court, the lawyers would refer to her actual name, but we can't report it due to the publication ban). After the jury left for the day, the Crown suggested this device was disrespectful toward E.M. and Carroccia suggested he stop using the moniker. The next week, as he entered the courthouse, Brown was heckled by an advocate who asked him if his "alter ego" would be in court that day. Brown also memorably produced, in court, the Jägerbomb shot glasses at Jack's bar to prove they don't contain as much alcohol as a traditional shot glass, an argument used to undermine E.M.'s testimony about how drunk she was. Week of May 12: Trial flips to judge-alone Lisa Carnelos, representing Dubé, lobbed questions at E.M. about why she didn't immediately disclose the alleged assaults to her friends, while Julianna Greenspan, Foote's lawyer, presented the court with a pair of high- and thin-heeled shoes like the ones E.M. wore that night. The shoes were, court heard, not easy to slip on. Greenspan used them to suggest E.M. never tried to leave the room as she testified she had. Throughout the cross-examination, the defence lawyers were routinely frustrated by E.M.'s answers. She often used her responses to inject her own points. Carroccia, several times, urged her to simply answer the question asked. On May 14, E.M. finished her testimony and was dismissed by the judge. The Crown then called former player Tyler Steenbergen, a plain-spoken witness testifying from Alberta. He told the court about being in Room 209 and being shocked when a naked woman walked out of the bathroom. He said the woman started asking the men for sex, and confirmed he saw Hart and McLeod receive oral sex from her. He testified Formenton went to the bathroom with her and Dubé slapped the woman's buttocks. "It wasn't hard," he said, "But it wasn't soft either." He also said Foote did the splits over her, but he was unable to say whether he was clothed when he did it. This week would end on another dramatic moment: midday Thursday, a note was delivered to Carroccia from a juror that accused Brown of making fun of jurors — something he denied. After much back and forth, it was agreed the trial should continue without the jury and with Carroccia alone. Carroccia discharged the jury and shortly thereafter continued hearing evidence from Steenbergen. Week of May 20: Memory problems, fight over texts E.M. faced a tough cross-examination, but Brett Howden's time as a witness was a close second. The Vegas Golden Knight, who also testified remotely, clearly frustrated the Crown with his gaps in memory. Howden was unable to recall many details he had previously shared with investigators, so assistant Crown attorney Cunningham made an application to cross-examine her own witness on 18 inconsistencies she identified and sought a ruling on whether his memory loss was feigned. In a memorable moment, Savard told Carroccia that Howden wasn't particularly valuable to the defence and described him as a "plainly unsophisticated" witness. "He didn't come dressed for court. He is inarticulate, a poor communicator, careless with words." Perhaps most crucial to the Crown were Howden's text messages to Raddysh in which he described Dubé violently slapping E.M.'s buttocks. "Man, when I was leaving, Duber [Dubé] was smacking this girl's ass so hard. Like it looked like it hurt so bad," court heard he wrote in the text. The Crown mounted three different efforts to have the texts entered into evidence but each one failed. Those efforts ate into court time and prolonged Howden's time as a witness into the next week. Week of May 26: Carter Hart takes one for the team Carroccia's final ruling on Howden's text exchange came on the Monday morning of this week, and Howden's time as a witness got increasingly uncomfortable when Greenspan, representing Foote, showed him videos from Jack's bar. Howden, who is not charged in this case, could be seen grinding against E.M. on the dance floor. The video also showed him patting her buttocks. Greenspan noted Howden did not share these interactions with Hockey Canada or police investigators. Next to testify was Crown witness Stephen Newton, a retired London police sergeant. He was the original detective who looked into the June 2018 allegations of sexual assault and had gathered voluntary statements from some of the players. His interviews with McLeod, Formenton and Dubé that were conducted in the last two months of 2018 were then played in full in court — the first time we've heard from some of the accused players in this case. All three shared a similar narrative: That it was the woman who aggressively sought sex with the men. McLeod did not disclose he sent texts inviting others to Room 209 for sex, but Formenton did tell Newton about the text. Newton's line of questioning didn't probe whether there were specific discussions about consent for each of the alleged acts but focused more on the sobriety of E.M. and the players. His investigation was closed early into 2019 with no charges being laid. The Crown asked him whether he ever viewed any of the surveillance footage he collected from Jack's. He said he did not. She also asked him whether he ever applied for any search warrants. Newton said he did not. Humphrey, McLeod's lawyer, made a point of clarifying that Newton, after learning of the existence of a text message from McLeod inviting players to his room for sex, made no attempt to obtain the message or contact the hockey player. Court ended with a cliffhanger, as the Crown announced it was looking into calling a new witness — another player who recently returned to Canada. In the end, that idea was shelved and Cunningham rested the Crown's case the next day. Humphrey told court he and McLeod would not call evidence, paving the way for Savard to calmly call her client, Hart, which sent a jolt through the courtroom as he was the first — and would eventually become the only — accused man to testify. Of the five on trial, Hart appeared to have the most promising career as a starting goalie with the Philadelphia Flyers. (Note: When the players were first charged in this case, four of the five were in the NHL, but they're no longer in the league). Hart told the court the weekend of the Hockey Canada gala in 2018 was only his third experience drinking alcohol, he was open to sexual experiences, and in addition to McLeod sending a text invite to Room 209, McLeod called him. Hart said E.M. was soliciting sex from the men, and he asked for "a blowie" (a blowjob) and she agreed. He said it didn't last long because he made eye contact with another player and felt weird. Hart testified the oral sex he received from E.M. was consensual. Under cross-examination, Hart acknowledged his voice could be heard in one of the consent videos saying he was contacting Dante Fabbro, a world junior hockey teammate at the time, to try to get him to come to the room. The Crown suggested if it were truly awkward in the room, he wouldn't be inviting other players. Hart agreed the atmosphere was exciting. Week of June 2: Last witness, defence rests After taking the weekend to think about it and confer with his client, Brown opted not to have Formenton testify, but he did call Det. Lyndsey Ryan, the London police officer who was tasked with reinvestigating the case. Riaz Sayani, part of Hart's legal team, pushed Ryan about the significant differences between E.M.'s 2018 police statement and a 2022 statement prepared for Hockey Canada. Ryan responded she thought those differences were important because it seemed like she had "processed some stuff" in the four years that had passed. The Crown used the opportunity to ask Ryan how E.M. seemed when she learned of the new police investigation. Ryan told the court E.M. was actually "quite upset." The officer also said: "I got the sense that I was opening up some wounds that she was trying to close." Ryan would be the last witness called. Carnelos, representing Dubé, and Greenspan, representing Foote, both rested their cases. The same day, court was dismissed so all the lawyers could prepare their closing arguments before Carroccia. They were scheduled to start Monday, June 9. Week of June 9: Closing submissions start On Monday, the five defence teams kick off closing submissions as to why their clients should be found not guilty before the Crown makes its final arguments. A closing argument is a final speech by each lawyer to the court, and can include summarizing the evidence and the main points of the case. Then, the fate of the five accused men will be in the hands of Carroccia, who will weigh all the evidence before reaching her decisions. It is unknown how long that may take.


CBC
20 hours ago
- CBC
Dead woman's police statement not admissible in trial of alleged serial rapist
The evidence of a Calgary woman who told police she'd been kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted by an alleged serial rapist can not be considered at his trial because she died in tragic circumstances and can't be cross-examined. Richard Mantha is on trial, facing 20 charges related to allegations he sexually assaulted seven women, most of whom were vulnerable sex-trade workers at the time. One of those women, whom CBC News is calling LM in order to comply with a publication ban, died in a tragic accident in December. CBC News is not publishing details of her death because they would identify the woman, whose identity remains protected by a publication ban. On Friday, Justice Judith Shriar ruled the alleged victim's statement to police is not admissible because of concerns over its reliability. LM told police she'd spoken with other women on the street about the case. Because of her death, defence lawyer Justin Dean wouldn't get the chance to question her about the unsworn statement. Last month, prosecutor Dominique Mathurin played a video-taped statement LM gave to police, who were investigating Mantha at the time. In the video, LM told Staff Sgt. Shelby Stewart that, in April 2022, she was dumped on the side of the road after escaping an RV inside a quonset hut east of the city. 'The second girl' She was picked up by an RCMP officer who told LM that she was "the second girl that happened to" in the last week. The officer did not take the woman to a detachment for a statement. Instead, he dropped her off at a CTrain station in Calgary. About a year later, Mantha was being investigated by Calgary police and, in the course of that investigation, Stewart learned of LM's interaction with the RCMP. LM told Stewart that a man, whom the Crown alleges was Mantha, picked her up and offered her a ride to a CTrain station. It was raining and LM said yes. The man gave LM a Sprite, which she told police caused her to black out. LM fought off attacker LM told the officer that she woke up in an RV naked, except for her bra. She said she fought the man off and threatened to stab him. LM said she found her knife and demanded he drive her back to where he'd picked her up. As they left the RV, LM said she realized the vehicle was inside a quonset. Court has already heard evidence that Mantha was living in an RV inside a quonset on a property east of the city near Langdon. Once on the road, LM said the man shoved her out of the truck and left her on the side of the road. When asked to point out the location of the quonset on a map, LM identified Mantha's rental property as the place she'd been taken. The case is back for trial continuation in July.