Latest news with #2018WorldJuniors
National Post
12 hours ago
- Politics
- National Post
Hockey Canada trial: Goalie Carter Hart testifies
Article content The trial of five players from Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team, charged with sexual assault over an alleged incident inside a London hotel, continues on Thursday with the Crown closing its case and goalie Carter Hart testifying. Follow along below for live coverage from LFP reporter Brian Williams
National Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Cop who opted not to charge players testifies at Hockey Canada trial
Article content Steve Newton is a retired London police detective who decided against charging members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team in connection with an alleged incident in a downtown hotel with a woman. Five players were later charged with sexual assault and on Tuesday Newton began his testimony at their trial. Follow below for live updates from the London courthouse Article content
New York Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Brett Howden, defense attorney clash during pointed cross-examination
LONDON, Ont. – During cross-examination on Tuesday, Brett Howden was accused by the defense of minimizing his interactions with the complainant in the hours before the alleged incident at the center of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial and lying about a phone call he said he had with a teammate about the matter. Advertisement In a pointed back and forth, Julianna Greenspan, attorney for Cal Foote, suggested that Howden, now a member of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, purposely withheld information from investigators to avoid further scrutiny of his own actions. Dillon Dubé, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Foote are each accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early hours of June 19, 2018, after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont., where team members gathered to celebrate their 2018 World Juniors championship run. All five players pleaded not guilty in the trial, which is now in its sixth week. Howden, a key Crown witness in the case, was the first member of the 2018 Hockey Canada world junior team to interact with the complainant at Jack's bar the night of the incidents. After dancing with the woman — known in this trial as E.M. — he introduced her to McLeod. On Monday, Greenspan showed Howden surveillance video from the bar and pressed him repeatedly to acknowledge he slapped E.M. on the buttocks multiple times. Howden dug in and even after Greenspan showed him the video two additional times, with a portion of the video slowed down, maintained that he slapped her only once. As Greenspan's cross-examine of Howden continued on Tuesday, she pressed him further about his own actions the night of the incidents at the center of this trial, suggesting that Howden had minimized his interactions with E.M. at the bar in past interviews with both Hockey Canada and police investigators. In July 2018, Howden told Hockey Canada investigator Danielle Robitaille that E.M. was just 'part of a mixture with a bunch of girls on the dance floor.' When Greenspan pressed Howden on that characterization, he said that he was responding to short surveillance clips of a long night. 'A few minutes with someone who ends up in room 209, right?' Greenspan asked. 'A few minutes of direct, very close dancing contact.' Advertisement 'Yeah, but I've also never seen this girl in my life,' Howden said. 'And on the dance floor at the bar, you can tell that it's obviously dark. … I don't think it's fair that a couple minutes out of a whole night that you just expect me to know this girl that I've met for the first time in my lifetime.' 'Things aren't fair, are they Mr. Howden?' Greenspan asked, prompting the Crown to object about the basis of the question. Greenspan suggested to Howden that he knew about his contact with E.M. at the bar when he talked to Hockey Canada investigators. 'No I'm not going to accept that, because like I told you it was a long night,' Howden said. 'And I don't know how I could remember exact moments of a multiple-hour night.' Greenspan continued to press Howden about his 'direct and repeat contact' with E.M., describing his evidence as a 'false memory' to which Howden said that he had been drinking over the course of a 'long night.' 'I was being as honest as I could,' Howden said. 'I'm going to suggest that you did know,' Greenspan said. 'You did know exactly and at least until you find out about Hockey Canada and police getting involved, you never thought for a second that there was anything wrong with what happened. Agree or no?' 'No, I didn't think I did anything wrong that night,' Howden said. 'And knowing what you did on the dance floor, knowing what happened at Jack's bar, and everything else, you never thought that there was any problem with your behavior, right?' Greenspan asked. 'Yeah, correct,' Howden said. Howden was also accused by Greenspan of making up a phone call in which he said he was asked by Foote not to mention him or his actions to Hockey Canada investigators. Greenspan suggested that once Howden learned about the 2022 lawsuit filed by E.M. against Hockey Canada and the allegations contained therein, he offered up an interaction with Foote because he felt he 'had to give some explanation' for not mentioning anything about Foote in the investigations previously. Advertisement Howden disputed that and said he was speaking truthfully about the phone call when he relayed the information to investigators. The Crown, in re-examination, referenced Howden previously sharing specific details about that phone call, in which he told investigators he remembers telling Foote that he didn't see what allegedly happened between Foote and E.M. in the hotel room. Foote is accused of doing the splits over E.M. while she was laying on the ground and grazing his genitals over her face. The Crown also referenced previous testimony Howden gave that his call with Dubé put him in a difficult position with Hockey Canada investigators because he said he views himself as an 'honest person.' Howden's time on the stand ended Tuesday morning. The Crown will next call retired London Police sergeant Stephen Newton as a witness. The Athletic's Dan Robson contributed reporting from Toronto. (Photo by Don Emmert / AFP via Getty Images)
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Formenton asked for advice on way to bathroom with complainant, ex-teammate testifies
One of five hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman inside a London, Ont., hotel room asked some of his teammates for advice before heading toward the bathroom with her, another player testified Tuesday. Alex Formenton made a comment along the lines of 'should I be doing this?' to a few of the other players in the room as he and the woman were on their way, Brett Howden told the court. The woman had been asking the men in the room to have sex with her but no one was taking her up on it, he testified, though two — Carter Hart and Michael McLeod — received oral sex. Howden said he didn't remember how the woman and Formenton ended up together or if anyone answered Formenton directly. "Everyone kind of just left it up to him,' said Howden, who currently plays in the NHL for the Vegas Golden Knights. 'No one was telling him not to do it because it seemed like she was excited that she was taking him to the bathroom.' No one spoke to the woman, who was next to Formenton, Howden said, nor could he remember if she said anything. Formenton, McLeod, Hart and their former teammates Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in connection with an encounter that took place in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault. All of the accused were members of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team, and the events that are the focus of the trial took place as many on that year's roster were in London for a gala celebrating their championship win. CAUTION: The following paragraphs contain graphic content some readers may find disturbing. Prosecutors allege McLeod, Hart and Dube obtained oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube slapped her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else. Foote is accused of doing the splits over her face and grazing his genitals on it without her consent. Formenton is alleged to have had vaginal sex with the complainant without her consent inside the bathroom. The woman met a group of men including McLeod at a downtown bar where she was drinking with co-workers, she has testified. She and McLeod left the bar together and went back to his hotel room, where they had sex, she said. That encounter is not part of the trial. Afterward, a number of men came into the room while the woman was still naked, the complainant testified. She was drunk and scared, and felt she had no choice but to go along with what they wanted, she said. The woman engaged in sexual acts while on "autopilot," she said. Defence lawyers have suggested the woman instead actively participated in and even initiated the sexual activity, asking the men if anyone would have sex with her and at times taunting them. The woman, who cannot be identified under a publication ban, maintains she doesn't remember saying such things, and if she did, that would be an indication that she was out of her mind from intoxication. Formenton's lawyer, Daniel Brown, suggested last week the woman pulled his client into the bathroom to have sex after he said he didn't want to do it in front of the others. The woman, meanwhile, described someone following her when she got up to go to the bathroom, and said she resigned herself that sex was going to happen. Howden told the court Tuesday he went to McLeod's room because he wanted to get food and ended up hanging out there with some of the players. He was surprised to see a woman, he said, adding no one had mentioned that possibility earlier. He saw Hart and McLeod receive oral sex and saw Formenton and the woman walk toward the bathroom, though he didn't remember seeing them go inside. He also mentioned Dube "spanking the girl on the butt," but didn't remember seeing it himself. The situation was uncomfortable, and Howden left soon after, he said. Prosecutors asked Howden about texts he sent in a team group chat about a week later, after the players learned Hockey Canada was looking into the encounter. A recent change in phone numbers meant that he hadn't previously been part of the chat, but was added in, he said. In one message, he said: 'All we have to say is 'someone brought the girl back to the room. We were all in there ordering food and then this girl started begging from everyone to have sex with her. Nobody would do it. But then as time went on she gave 3 guys head. Once things started to get out of hand we all left and got her out." That was followed by another message asking "yeah or no," and another player, Maxime Comptois, replied "sounds good to me." Howden said Tuesday he didn't know why he asked "yeah or no," and that he was just trying to tell the truth about what happened. He couldn't remember who was the third person he said received oral sex. Some of his other messages showed anger because he felt the complainant was the one who "put us in that situation," Howden said. He agreed he didn't know what had happened in the room before he arrived or after he left, or inside the bathroom. Throughout his testimony Tuesday, Howden said he couldn't remember details of what happened, even after reviewing statements he previously made to Hockey Canada investigators or police. Asked whether he recalled seeing the complainant upset at any point, Howden said he knew he had said "something along those lines" in one of his past statements, but "sitting here, talking to you right now, I don't remember that." Prosecutors said they identified more than a dozen inconsistencies related to his various statements and plan to make an application to explore them. The trial went through a major upheaval last week when the judge dismissed the jury over concerns that some jurors harboured negative feelings toward the defence. Rather than having a mistrial, the Crown and defence agreed to continue the trial with a judge alone, meaning witnesses who previously testified – including the complainant – will not need to do so again. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2025. Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
New York Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Defense attorney questions E.M. about calling players men during Hockey Canada trial
The fifth and final defense attorney in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial began her cross-examination Tuesday by accusing the complainant of having 'an agenda' for using the term 'men' to refer to the five hockey players accused of sexual assault and other members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team. Advertisement Throughout the trial, all five defense attorneys have referred to the accused, who were all at least 18 at the time of the alleged incident, as 'boys.' Julianna Greenspan, lawyer for Cal Foote, suggested that E.M. referring to the players as 'men' was an intentional choice. E.M. agreed, referencing their ages. 'I've been calling them men because that's what they were,' E.M. said. Foote, Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Carter Hart are all facing sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident in which E.M. said she was sexually assaulted over the span of several hours in a London, Ont., hotel room while players were in town for a Hockey Canada event celebrating their 2018 World Juniors championship. All five players have pleaded not guilty. E.M. has appeared in the witness box by CCTV since May 2. She has testified that after a night of drinking and dancing at Jack's bar, she returned to the hotel with McLeod and engaged in consensual sex. Afterward, she said, men showed up in the hotel room without her consent and that she was scared. E.M. said that she was asked to lay down on a bedsheet on the floor, and did so because she felt she had no choice. Over the next couple of hours, she said she was coaxed into performing oral sex and vaginal sex, and was slapped and spit on while players yelled out directions and encouraged each other. She said the experience left her feeling degraded and humiliated. On Tuesday, Greenspan brought up the first statement E.M. made to police in June 2018, in which she uses the word 'boy' to describe her interactions with the men she met at the bar that night. Greenspan emphasized that E.M. did not use the term 'man' in her statement in June 2018. 'Not one single time did you use the reference 'man' or 'men' in June 2018 to refer to these individuals, right?' Greenspan said. Advertisement 'That's right. That's not how I spoke back then,' E.M. replied. 'That was seven years ago.' Greenspan again suggested that E.M. used the term boys in 2018 because it described 'who they were' and 'what they were.' 'Pretty obvious,' Greenspan said. 'Just because I used 'boys,' because that was the only way I could really articulate this and get this out to the officer, doesn't change the fact that their age made them men,' E.M. replied. Greenspan continued to press the point. 'The reason you have so carefully changed your language is that you have come into this trial with a clear agenda,' Greenspan said. 'Isn't that right?' 'No, absolutely not. I'm older. I understand more,' E.M. said. 'They were men.' Greenspan suggested that E.M. was likely aware of who the World Junior players were because she had family members who played and coached hockey at various levels. Greenspan also noted that the London Knights are a popular OHL team. The Knights play at Canada Life Place next door to the London Courthouse, and just a few blocks away from Jack's bar and the Delta hotel. 'I knew of the London Knights team … I couldn't tell you a single player on the team,' E.M. said, adding that she had never been to a Knights game at that point. Greenspan said that in December 2018, the Canadian World Junior team played an exhibition game at the Knights arena, then known as Budweiser Garden. E.M. said she was not aware that the team played there. She has previously testified that she did not share her family's interest in hockey. Greenspan continues her cross-examination of E.M. today. — The Athletic's Dan Robson reported remotely from Toronto, and The Athletic's Kamila Hinkson reported remotely from Montreal. The Athletic's Katie Strang contributed additional reporting. (Photo of Cal Foote arriving at the London, Ont., courthouse on May 8 with his lawyer Julianna Greenspan: Geoff Robins / The Canadian Press via AP)
