Judge in Hockey Canada case delivers another blow to critical piece of evidence for Crown
LONDON, Ont. – Justice Maria Carroccia ruled Monday morning that a key piece of evidence in the Crown's case will not be admissible in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. It was the second failed attempt to have the text included.
Carroccia determined that a text message sent from Brett Howden, a member of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team, to teammate Taylor Raddysh on June 26, 2018 about Dillon Dubé slapping the buttocks of the complainant in the case would not be allowed as 'hearsay evidence' based on what she described as a lack of 'reliability.'
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'I have concerns regarding the accuracy of the statement,' Carroccia said.
In explaining her decision, Carroccia said that unlike traditional statements, Howden did not send the text under oath or while being recorded and that he was 'scared,' 'nervous' and 'not attempting to be factual' at the time he sent the message. Howden, a Crown witness, previously testified that he sent the message after learning that Hockey Canada was investigating allegations that a number of players sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman over the span of several hours in a London, Ont. hotel room in the early morning hours of June 19, 2018.
The text message was previously ruled out as 'past recollection recorded' following an application from the Crown to have the communication considered.
The text between Howden and Raddysh, his roommate during the weekend of the Hockey Canada golf and gala celebration to celebrate their team's 2018 World Juniors championship run in London, Ont., read:
'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all that sh– went down. Ha, ha … 'Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl's ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.'
During this testimony Howden has said that he did not remember the incidents described in his texts, but believed he was being truthful when he wrote them.
He told Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham that he 'had no reason to lie' at the time.
According to the Crown's case, Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with another person. The Crown also says that Michael McLeod, Carter Hart and Dillon Dubé all obtained oral sex from E.M. without her consent, that Alex Formenton had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent and that Cal Foote did the splits over her as she laid on the ground, grazing his genitals over her face.
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E.M. said these incidents took place as she was sexually assaulted by the five players over the span of several hours in a London hotel room in June 2018. In her testimony, she described being spit on, slapped, degraded and coerced into a number of sexual acts.
All five have pleaded not guilty.
Howden will continue on the stand Monday morning as he's cross-examined by the defense teams for the five players who are charged.
— The Athletic's Dan Robson reported remotely from Toronto.
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
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