Judge weighs text evidence after Brett Howden's emotional testimony
LONDON, Ont. – The judge in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial will decide whether text messages Brett Howden sent to a teammate describing Dillion Dubé smacking the complainant's buttocks are admissible as evidence.
'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all that sh– went down. Ha, ha,' Howden wrote to Taylor Raddysh, also adding: 'Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl's ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.'
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On Thursday, Justice Maria Carroccia heard arguments from both the Crown and defense as to whether the text exchange between Howden and Raddysh could be submitted as evidence as 'past recollections recorded.' Court ended early, as Carroccia said she needed time to make a ruling on the key piece of the prosecution's evidence.
Carroccia is expected to deliver her ruling on Friday morning.
Howden sent the text message to Raddysh on June 26, 2018, as the former 2018 Canadian World Junior teammates learned that Hockey Canada was opening an investigation into allegations that a woman had been sexually assaulted by several members of that team a week earlier in a London, Ont., hotel room.
Howden and Raddysh were roommates at the hotel, where they stayed during a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. Neither Howden nor Raddysh are accused of wrongdoing.
On Thursday morning, Howden — now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights — appeared in court via video feed from Las Vegas, where he resides.
As he was questioned by Lisa Carnelos, counsel for Dubé, Howden grew visibly emotional as he recalled learning about the Hockey Canada investigation and having to tell his father about the incidents. Carnelos later pressed Howden about his state of mind at the time.
'You're scared of a number of things,' she said. 'You're scared of your dad.'
Howden paused, and appeared to choke up.
'It was one of the hardest things to go through,' he said.
Carnelos pressed further, asking about his girlfriend at the time.
'That girlfriend was very important to you right?'
'Yes,' Howden said. 'She's my wife.'
'You've just had your second child with her, correct?'
Howden's face grew red.
'Yeah,' he said.
'Congratulations,' Carnelos said.
At that, Howden began to cry.
'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' he said, composing himself after Carroccia asked him if he needed a moment.
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The exchange underscored a second day of testimony from Howden. In his first appearance on the stand Wednesday, he repeatedly said he couldn't recall details about the alleged incident, prompting Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham to accuse him of being dishonest about his lack of memory. Howden continued to insist he didn't remember specifics even when given access to transcripts from past statements he made to Hockey Canada investigators and police.
During a voir dire hearing on Wednesday over a Canada Evidence Act application by the Crown seeking to cross-examine Howden, prosecutors and the defense argued over Howden's truthfulness on the stand.
After a day of deliberations, Carroccia found that she didn't believe Howden was feigning memory loss, but agreed that there were elements of his testimony that were inconsistent with his past statements. Carroccia ruled that four areas out of the 18 Cunningham presented could be further questioned.
During arguments on Wednesday, Megan Savard — attorney for Carter Hart — said that Howden was an unsophisticated, inarticulate witness who didn't even dress properly for court. Howden appeared in a hoodie during his first day on the stand.
When Howden returned to the stand on Thursday, he wore a white polo shirt and appeared more forthright in his answers. He is the fourth member of the 2018 World Junior team called as a Crown witness. Raddysh, Boris Katchouk and Tyler Steenbergen have already testified.
Howden's former World Junior teammates — Dubé, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote — looked on from the courtroom. They are each accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early hours of June 19, 2018, after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont. All five players pleaded not guilty in the trial, which is now in its fifth week.
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The Crown says that McLeod, Hart and Dubé all obtained oral sex from E.M. without her consent, and that Formenton had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent. The Crown has also told the jury that Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with another person, and that Foote did the splits and grazed his genitals over her face as she laid on the ground.
Howden recalled being shocked when he read the contents of his text exchange with Raddysh during a later Hockey Canada investigation. He said he could not recall sending those messages.
But he told Cunningham that he had 'no reason to lie' at the time.
Later, Carnelos pressed Howden about his state of mind and the casual nature of the text messages he exchanged about the incident in 2018. He said it was hard to remember details, but recalled being stressed and scared at the time.
'For so long, I've been trying to move on past this and forget about it,' Howden said. 'I remember the gist of what happened that night, but it's hard for me to go back in that time and remember it.'
Carnelos and other members of the defense argued that the text messages should be dismissed because Howden was not attempting to be accurate when he wrote them and did not expect them to be used as evidence seven years later.
Later, when Cunningham re-examined Howden, she again asked him whether — even if he doesn't recall the events described — he believed he was being truthful when he wrote the text message.
'I believe what I said back then,' he said. 'I was being honest.'
(Photo of Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights by Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
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