Canadian hockey players learn fate as verdict in historic sexual assault trial is revealed
CBC reported there were gasps and tears in the courtroom as the verdict was read.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube and Alex Formenton have now all been acquitted.
'Much has been made in this case about the concept of consent,' Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia told the courtroom on Wednesday. 'This case, on its facts, does not raise issues of the reformulation of the legal concept of consent. In this case, I have found actual consent not vitiated by fear.'
A woman identified as 'E.M.' sued Hockey Canada in 2022, alleging she was sexually assaulted by eight members of Canada's world junior team after a fundraising gala in London in 2018. Hockey Canada settled the lawsuit, and then an investigation revealed the organization had two secret funds to pay settlements on claims of sexual assault and abuse.
E.M. testified in May that she was naked, drunk and scared when four of the men showed up unexpectedly in her room at the Delta Hotel London Armouries in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018, and felt the only 'safe' option was to do what they wanted. Prosecutors contend the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure she was voluntarily consenting to sexual acts.
London Detective Sargeant Katherine Dann said in announcing charges in early 2024 that London Police received a call on June 19, 2018, from a relative of the victim and launched an investigation. That was closed in 2019 with no charges.
A 2022 lawsuit sought $3.55 million in damages but was dropped after E.M. reached a settlement with Hockey Canada, leading police to reopen the investigation and charge five members of the team.
The NHL launched its own investigation in 2022. Officials pledged to release the findings, though Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February that would depend on what the league can say given legal proceedings.
Defense attorneys cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a "wild night."
Hart, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers; McLeod and Foote, formerly of the New Jersey Devils; Dube, formerly of the Calgary Flames; and ex-NHL player Alex Formenton, who had been playing in Europe with Swiss club HC Ambri-Piotta, were charged with sexual assault. McLeod is facing an additional charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault.
All five pleaded not guilty. None is on an NHL roster or has an active contract with a team in the league.
Hart was the Flyers´ No. 1 goaltender, while McLeod and Dube were regulars. Foote, a defenseman and son of former NHL player Adam Foote, primarily spent this past season in the American Hockey League. Formenton played in 109 games for the Ottawa Senators from 2017 through 2022 before going to Europe.
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