The sexual assault case against 2018 Canada world junior players nears a verdict
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube and Alex Formenton faced a trial after an incident that occurred in London, Ontario, in 2018.
What happened?
A woman 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.
London Detective Sgt. 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.
The 2022 suit, which sought $3.55 million in damages and was dropped after reaching the settlement with Hockey Canada, led to police reopening the investigation and charges against 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.
The woman 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.
Defense attorneys cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a 'wild night.'
Who was charged?
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.
What's next?
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia is solely responsible for handing down a ruling in the case after dismissing the jury in May, following a complaint that defense attorneys were laughing at some of the jurors. Carroccia said she had not seen any behavior that would cause her concern but concluded the jury's negative impression of the defense could impact their impartiality, a problem that could not be remedied.
Possible fallout?
There is a wide range of outcomes if any of the men are found guilty, with sentences in Canada for varying degrees of sexual assault ranging from no mandatory minimum up to 10 years in prison.
It was not immediately clear whether the players would be able to return to the NHL if they are found not guilty. Bettman has said the league will let the legal case play out before taking any steps.
Thursdays
Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.
Whatever the judge decides, Bettman has wide latitude to make decisions in the interest of the game when it comes to off-ice behavior. The league in 2019 suspended Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov for the 2019-20 season and ensuing playoffs after determining he committed acts of domestic violence. Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games for violating the league's gambling policy.
There is an appeals process through the NHL Players' Association and an arbitrator jointly hired by the league and union to rule on disputes, when necessary.
Hockey Canada, meanwhile, has lost several sponsors, including Nike, and its CEO and board resigned in 2022 in the wake of this and other scandals.
___
AP hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/hockey
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Why the players were acquitted in the Hockey Canada trial
On Thursday, five members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team were found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room after a Hockey Canada gala. The men — Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote — were acquitted of all charges by Justice Maria Carroccia. The Hockey Canada case has captivated the country — raising complex questions about consent, hockey culture and even how sports organizations handle accusations of assault. Globe reporter Robyn Doolittle has been covering the story since it first became public in 2022. She was in the courtroom for the verdict and joins The Decibel from London, Ontario, to explain how the judge arrived at her conclusion. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Breaking down the not guilty Hockey Canada decision
A trial that was seven years in the making came to its conclusion with all five former Hockey Canada players found not guilty of sexual assault. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote were acquitted in a London, Ontario courtroom by Justice Maria Carroccia. McLeod was also found not guilty of being a party to a sexual assault. All five had pleaded not guilty. The Athletic's senior enterprise writer Dan Robson explains the decision and its implications. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: Subscribe to Front Burner on your favourite podcast app. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on YouTube
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Syria's Druze fear for their future after sectarian clashes
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Before the eruption of sectarian violence in southern Syria, Saber Abou Ras taught medical sciences at a university in the city of Sweida and was somewhat hopeful of a better future for his country as it emerged from nearly 14 years of civil war. Now, like many others in the Druze-majority city in southern Syria, he carries arms and refuses to give them up to the government. He sees little hope for the united Syria he recently thought was in reach. 'We are for national unity, but not the unity of terrorist gangs,' Abou Ras, a Druze, told The Associated Press in a phone call from the battered city. Clashes broke out last week that were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters with the Druze religious minority. The violence killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. Syrian government forces intervened to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Disturbing videos and reports soon surfaced of Druze civilians being humiliated and executed, sometimes accompanied by sectarian slurs. One showed gunmen in military uniform asking an unarmed man about his identity. When he replies that he is Syrian, the gunmen demand, 'What do you mean Syrian? Are you Sunni or Druze?' When the man says he is Druze, the men open fire, killing him. Hossam Saraya, a Syrian-American Druze from Oklahoma, was shown in another video, kneeling with his brother, father, and at least three other relatives, before a group of men in military garb sprayed them with automatic fire and celebrated. A religious sect with roots in Islam The Druze religious sect is an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Outsiders are not allowed to convert, and most religious practices are shrouded in secrecy. There are roughly a million Druze worldwide and more than half of them live in Syria. The others live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights — which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Though a small community within Syria's population of more than 20 million, Sweida's Druze take pride in their involvement in liberating the country from Ottoman and later French colonial rule, and establishing the present-day Syrian state. During the uprising-turned-civil war that started in 2011, Druze leaders reached a fragile agreement with former President Bashar Assad that gave Sweida semi-autonomy, leaving the minority group to protect its own territory instead of serving in the Syrian military. Most Druze celebrated Assad's fall The Druze largely welcomed the fall of Assad in December in a rebel offensive that ended decades of autocratic rule by the Assad dynasty. The Druze were largely skeptical of the Islamist background of Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, especially as he once led the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. But many, including influential clerics, supported diplomatically engaging with the new leadership. Among those more hostile towards al-Sharaa is spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and a faction of Druze militias called the Sweida Military Council. There were intense divisions between them and others in the Druze community for months. Previous clashes between Druze armed groups and government forces were resolved before the violence could escalate. A security agreement was reached between the Druze and Damascus in May that was intended to bring about long-term calm. But the recent clashes and sectarian attacks in Sweida have upset that balance, and many Druze appear to have lost hope in reaching a fair settlement diplomatically. Sectarian violence after the fall of Assad Many Druze see the government's attacks as an extension of a wave of sectarian violence that broke out months ago on Syria's coast. Clashes between the new government's forces and Assad loyalists spiraled into revenge killings targeting members of the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. A government investigation into the coastal violence found that more than 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and that members of the security forces were implicated in the attacks. The difference in Sweida, as Abou Ras, the Druze medical sciences professor, sees it, is that the Druze had their own armed factions that were able to fight back. 'They talked about respecting minorities and the different components of Syria,' he said. 'But what happened at the coast was a hard lesson for Syrians, and we learned from it.' The interim president denies that Druze are being targeted After the violence in Sweida, Al-Sharaa vowed to hold perpetrators to account, and restated his promises since taking power that he will not exclude Syria's minority groups. He and other officials have insisted that they are not targeting the Druze, but armed factions that are challenging state authority, namely those led by al-Hijri. Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of trying to exacerbate divisions in the country by launching airstrikes on government forces in the province, which Israel said was in defense of the Druze. The tensions have already created new challenges to forging national unity. Other minority groups — particularly the Kurdish forces controlling Syria's northeast, who have been in negotiations with Damascus to merge with the new national army — are reconsidering surrendering their weapons after seeing the violence in Sweida. A Syrian Druze who lived abroad for over 20 years was in Syria when Assad fell and celebrated with friends and family on the streets of Sweida. He quit his job to move back and be involved with the community. He joined in with people who waved Syria's new flag that symbolized the uprising, danced, and stepped on torn portraits of Assad. He said he wanted al-Sharaa to be successful, but now he doesn't see a peaceful future for Syria's different ethnic and religious groups with him at the helm. 'In every household (in Sweida), someone has died,' he told the AP. The Associated Press could not confirm that independently as there was no official death toll. However, it was a sentiment frequently shared by Syrians from Sweida. He asked to have his name and other identifying details withheld out of fear for his and his family's safety. 'I think after the massacres that happened, there is not a single person in Sweida that wants anything to do with this government, unfortunately,' he said. 'This government butchered people, and butchered any possibility to (bring) reconciliation and harmonize the south.' ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
