‘She's not an honest or a reliable witness': Defence challenges complainant's credibility as closing arguments begin at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. — The complainant in the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial was a 'fully consenting participant' who fabricated her allegations because she didn't want to admit she chose to be 'sexually adventurous' in a hotel room full of men she had just met, the defence argued Monday at the start of closing arguments.
The central issue in the case is whether the woman, whose identity is covered by a standard publication ban, consented to sexual activity with Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote, all members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, in a room at the Delta Armouries hotel in the early hours of June 19, 2018, when she was 20 years old.
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Vancouver Sun
33 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Hockey Canada trial verdict date set as defence questions woman's credibility
Digging through the testimony of a woman accusing Team Canada hockey players of sexual assault was, their lawyers say, 'an exercise in fact-finding frustration.' In their closing arguments so far at the high-profile trial, defence teams for some players described to the judge how the complainant gave well-rehearsed, 'revisionist' answers to suit her 'agenda.' 'When you read through this witness's evidence, similarly to listening to it, it is an exercise in fact-finding frustration at every turn,' said Megan Savard, defence lawyer for goaltender Carter Hart. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'The manner of testifying obscures rather than illuminates the core of what she did, why she did it, what others did, how she felt and how and why she changed her account over time.' Savard said the way the woman testified was deliberate. 'The goal is to obscure because this witness knows that the truth will not serve her agenda, which is to see her non-consent story accepted and believed.' Savard made her comments at the conclusion of her argument Tuesday as the trial is in the home-stretch. Two more defence teams and the Crown still have to make arguments, but Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia set July 24 as the date for her ultimate decision. Hart, 26, Michael McLeod, 27, Alex Formenton, 25, Dillon Dube, 26, and Cal Foote, 26, all members of the 2018 championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in connection with what happened in McLeod's room at the Delta Armouries hotel in London on June 18 and 19, 2018, where they were staying for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. McLeod also has pleaded not guilty to a second charge of sexual assault for being a party to an offence. Consent is the central issue in the trial, which began in late April and has explored what happened at Jack's bar on Richmond Row, where McLeod met the woman – who was 20 at the time and whose identity is protected by court order – before bringing her back to the hotel for consensual sex. The woman has testified she was intoxicated and forced into unwanted sexual activities when some of the team – up to 10 at one point – assembled in McLeod's room. The accused players have testified the woman was the aggressor, begging them for sexual activity. And, they say, all sex was consensual. Savard, Formenton's lawyer Daniel Brown and Dube's defence lawyer Lisa Carnelos all questioned the woman's credibility, pointing out she was often recalling what she was 'feeling' or 'thinking' or making assumptions based on her own character assessment. 'Once you realize what the witness is doing, it becomes impossible to accept any isolated, seemingly factual assertion about her state of mind at face value,' Savard said. Brown echoed Savard's concerns about the woman's credibility, focusing on what happened between her and Formenton. 'This evidence in the case overwhelmingly establishes that (the woman) consented to have sex with Alex Formenton. (She) repeatedly asked someone in the room to have sex with her and Mr. Formenton agreed to do so, in private, away from the larger group with the use of a condom,' he added. 'They did this because she wanted to have sexual intercourse and he did this because he wanted to have sex. They both agreed. It's not complicated.' Brown went deeper into his analysis of the woman's testimony, and how it conflicts with the security video evidence from both Jack's bar and the hotel lobby and what witnesses said. 'Where there was video evidence, it was demonstrated that (the woman's) testimony was exaggerated or false,' he said, adding that people who were in the hotel room couldn't corroborate her description of 'the oppressive atmosphere', where she claimed she was threatened, spit on and slapped. Brown reminded Carroccia that Formenton was still in high school at the time. 'What we know is that, especially when we're dealing with a case involving lots of young adults, sometimes consensual sex is regrettable later, especially when alcohol is consumed and inhibitions are lowered,' he said, noting that isn't just true for the woman, but also the players. 'That the sex in this case was unusual or unenjoyable or embarrassing or even regrettable doesn't mean it wasn't consensual,' he said. Brown said the judge has heard the woman suggest 'multiple states of mind' during her testimony to bolster her claim she wasn't consenting: that she was too drunk; that she was an automaton and her mind and body separated; that her choice was taken from her; and that she is essentially a people-pleaser 'who had a difficult time saying no.' Brown said there was a fifth state of mind the defence thinks is the most truthful: that she was 'enthusiastically consenting to what happened in Room 209.' What she did, Brown said, was create 'a lie' to cover up cheating on her boyfriend and create a narrative to explain what people saw her doing at Jack's – kissing, hugging, grinding on the dance floor and holding hands with McLeod. 'It's a lot easier to explain to her friends and family that people did bad things to her rather than take responsibility for the choices she made,' he said, adding in her evidence, she placed blame on her friends, McLeod and the players. When the police closed their investigation in 2019 with no charges, the woman's 'quest for justice (was) just starting,' Brown said, and she pursued a civil action. 'She wants money. She wants a lot of money. She wants $3.5 million, and she's been told that whatever evidence she's claiming about extreme intoxication and whatever evidence she knows exists doesn't quite get her there. It's not enough,' he said. Her version became richer 'to create a story for Hockey Canada that she was coerced and forced into a sexual encounter.' Brown suggested the woman wasn't happy when London police re-opened the investigation because she knew her story would be scrutinized. She also didn't know about the video from Jack's, or undisclosed Facebook Messenger texts with her co-workers who were at the bar, which contradicted her version. So, Brown said, the woman testified her mind separated from her body and she took on 'a porn star persona' when she saw the men in the room after having consensual sex with McLeod. But Brown said the woman testified to making rational choices that were in contradiction with her automaton description. What the woman was doing, Brown suggested, was take 'bits and pieces of sort-of legal knowledge, tropes about how victims of sexual violence act and try to incorporate all of them into a unified theory.' The players, Brown said, never tried to 'obfuscate the truth' in a group chat that is evidence. 'It was a group chat designed to encourage the truth.' And Formenton was forthright, telling the police in 2018 he went back to the room he shared with McLeod after McLeod sent him a text message about sex and admitted fully to having consensual sex – a version that was corroborated by others. Carnelos said, given the woman's credibility issues, it 'would be very unsafe to convict Mr. Dube.' Unlike the woman, who, during the last seven years, 'continued to work on (her) narrative and not forget about this thing in pursuit of her civil claim,' the players were out living their lives before the case was re-opened. The resulting memory loss means no one can accurately re-create what happened in the hotel room, including the woman who has acknowledged gaps in her memory. Dube's voluntary audio statement to the police in 2018 should be relied on and 'establishes consent to oral sex and communications between the complainant and himself directly.' Dube described the woman begging the men for sex 'to the point she was threatening to leave' and calling them names. His encounter with her was brief, and he stopped it. What is missing from the interview is any reference to Dube touching the woman's buttocks. Carnelos suggested Dube 'didn't appreciate the significance, or simply had forgotten it' compared to the oral sex. The only person to see it was Crown witness Tyler Steenbergen, who testified the touch as like 'foreplay,' 'playful' and didn't happen during any oral sex. Carnelos reminded Carroccia of 'a really, really important piece of evidence', which showed the woman was fully aware of what was happening in the hotel room. She pointed to player Maxime Comtois, who came back to the hotel with Dube and went to McLeod's room. The woman discovered Comtois spoke French and she had a conversation with him in French. 'That would suggest that her mind was in that room and she was not threatened and on her own evidence, during that interaction, was enjoying herself,' Carnelos said. The trial continues. jsims@
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
Hockey Canada trial verdict date set for July 24 as defence questions accuser's credibility
Digging through the testimony of a woman accusing Team Canada hockey players of sexual assault was, their lawyers say, 'an exercise in fact-finding frustration.' Article content In their closing arguments so far at the high-profile trial, defence teams for some players described to the judge how the complainant gave well-rehearsed, 'revisionist' answers to suit her 'agenda.' Article content Article content Article content 'When you read through this witness's evidence, similarly to listening to it, it is an exercise in fact-finding frustration at every turn,' said Megan Savard, defence lawyer for goaltender Carter Hart. Article content Article content 'The manner of testifying obscures rather than illuminates the core of what she did, why she did it, what others did, how she felt and how and why she changed her account over time.' Article content Savard said the way the woman testified was deliberate. 'The goal is to obscure because this witness knows that the truth will not serve her agenda, which is to see her non-consent story accepted and believed.' Article content Savard made her comments at the conclusion of her argument Tuesday as the trial is in the home-stretch. Two more defence teams and the Crown still have to make arguments, but Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia set July 24 as the date for her ultimate decision. Article content Hart, 26, Michael McLeod, 27, Alex Formenton, 25, Dillon Dube, 26, and Cal Foote, 26, all members of the 2018 championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in connection with what happened in McLeod's room at the Delta Armouries hotel in London on June 18 and 19, 2018, where they were staying for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. McLeod also has pleaded not guilty to a second charge of sexual assault for being a party to an offence. Article content Article content Consent is the central issue in the trial, which began in late April and has explored what happened at Jack's bar on Richmond Row, where McLeod met the woman – who was 20 at the time and whose identity is protected by court order – before bringing her back to the hotel for consensual sex. Article content The woman has testified she was intoxicated and forced into unwanted sexual activities when some of the team – up to 10 at one point – assembled in McLeod's room. The accused players have testified the woman was the aggressor, begging them for sexual activity. And, they say, all sex was consensual. Article content Savard, Formenton's lawyer Daniel Brown and Dube's defence lawyer Lisa Carnelos all questioned the woman's credibility, pointing out she was often recalling what she was 'feeling' or 'thinking' or making assumptions based on her own character assessment.
Global News
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