Hockey Canada sexual assault trial: Legal reckoning nears for ex-Hockey Canada players as judge weighs verdict
After nearly two months of courtroom proceedings, the highly publicized Hockey Canada sexual assault trial involving five former World Junior hockey players has officially wrapped up.
The case, tied to disturbing allegations from a 2018 incident in London, Ontario, will now rest in the hands of Justice Maria Carroccia, who is set to deliver her verdict on July 24.
Hockey Canada
sexual assault trial concludes as judge prepares verdict for July 24
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, and Cal Foote have all pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from what the Crown alleges was a prolonged sexual assault of a woman identified only as E.M., whose identity is protected under a publication ban.
The alleged assault took place after a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the players' 2018 World Junior Championship win.
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Throughout the trial, the Crown focused heavily on Canada's affirmative consent laws, arguing that E.M. did not provide ongoing, voluntary consent to the specific sexual acts she was allegedly subjected to. Crown attorneys Meaghan Cunningham and Heather Donkers challenged the defense's portrayal of E.M.
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as a willing participant, asserting instead that fear, intoxication, and pressure created a scenario where consent was neither freely given nor legally valid.
'Literally, any one of those men could have stood up and said, this isn't right. And no one did,' E.M. said during cross-examination. 'No one thought like that. They didn't want to think about if I was actually OK or if I was actually consenting.'
Cunningham emphasized the role of 'willful blindness and recklessness' in the defendants' behavior, saying the accused operated on 'rape myths and mistakes of law about what consent is.'
Defense disputes credibility and suggests alternative narrative
Each defense team presented a differing version of events, many of which depicted E.M. as the instigator. Attorneys attacked her credibility, alleged inconsistencies in her testimony, and claimed she later regretted the encounter. They suggested she fabricated the allegations to protect her reputation and support a civil lawsuit settled in 2022.
The final decision now lies with Carroccia, who has previously sided with the defense on multiple legal matters. All eyes are on July 24, when she will issue a written judgment that could send shockwaves through both the legal world and Canadian hockey.
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