Five former Hockey Canada players found not guilty in sexual assault trial
The charges against Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Cal Foote stemmed from an encounter in a hotel room in the Canadian city of London, Ontario after a Hockey Canada gala to celebrate the team's world junior championship victory.
All five former National Hockey League (NHL) players faced one count of sexual assault while McLeod faced an additional count of being a party to an offense. They all pleaded not guilty.
McLeod was also found not guilty of the additional charge.
"The allegations made in this case, even if not determined to have been criminal, were very disturbing and the behavior at issue was unacceptable," the NHL said in a statement, adding that it will review the judge's findings.
"While we conduct that analysis and determine next steps, the players charged in this case are ineligible to play in the League," the NHL said.
According to CBC News, Justice Maria Carroccia told the courtroom that she did not find the complainant's evidence to be "credible or reliable" and that the Crown failed to prove she did not consent to the sexual activity.
Karen Bellehumeur, a lawyer for the complainant, who is known as E.M. due to a publication ban on her identity, said she had spoken with her client — who was not in the courtroom on Thursday but watched remotely — since the verdict.
"She's obviously very disappointed with the verdict and very disappointed with Her Honor's assessment of her honesty and reliability," said Bellehumeur. "She's really never experienced not being believed like this before."
Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham told reporters they would "carefully review" Carroccia's decision but did not have further comments as the case is still within the appeal period.
The defense's case centered around E.M.'s credibility.
"Justice Carroccia's carefully reasoned decision represents a resounding vindication for Mr. McLeod and for his co-defendants," said McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey.
"Justice Carroccia found that the complainant's testimony was uncredible and was unreliable."
When the charges were announced in January 2024, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dube was with the Calgary Flames, Hart was with the Philadelphia Flyers while Formenton was playing in Switzerland.
The trial, which began in April and garnered national attention, faced many disruptions including a mistrial and two dismissed juries before Carroccia and the lawyers decided to proceed with a judge-alone trial.
A police investigation into the alleged incident was closed without charges in February 2019, but investigators reopened it in July 2022 in response to public outrage over reports that Hockey Canada used players' registration fees to pay an undisclosed settlement to the woman who made the accusations.
The scandal prompted the Canadian federal government to freeze Hockey Canada's funding for 10 months while a number of major companies either paused or canceled their sponsorships with the national governing body.
Amid the scandal, Hockey Canada said it would no longer use a fund financed by player registration fees to settle sexual assault claims. The organization's CEO and board of directors stepped down.
In 2023, Hockey Canada said an independent adjudicative panel held a hearing on whether certain members of the 2018 National Junior Team breached the organization's code of conduct, and if so, what sanctions should be imposed against those players.
The panel's final report is under appeal and has not been made public.
Hockey Canada has not disclosed who filed the appeal. In September, the panel granted a motion to adjourn the appeal hearing until the criminal trial involving the five members of the 2018 junior team was over.
"To ensure that we do not interfere with the integrity of the ongoing appeal of the independent adjudicative panel's report, we are not able to comment further at this time," Hockey Canada said in a statement after Thursday's ruling.
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