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New York Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
In first appearance at Hockey Canada trial, E.M. describes drunkenness and discomfort
LONDON, Ont. — The woman at the center of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial recounted a 'chaotic' night of drinking and dancing, in which she said she felt 'claustrophobic,' 'surrounded' and 'uncomfortable.' It was the first time the jury saw or heard from the complainant who said she was sexually assaulted by multiple players in a London, Ont., hotel room in June 2018. The players and other members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team were in town for a Hockey Canada event celebrating their championship run. Her testimony on Friday centered around the events leading up to the alleged incident and gave jurors insight into her state of mind in the hours before. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are all facing sexual assault charges stemming from the alleged incident. All five players pleaded not guilty to charges last week. Advertisement Those five players encountered almost two dozen protestors gathered near the entrance of the courthouse, holding up signs and chanting 'Break the silence! Stop the violence!' as they and their legal teams entered the building Friday morning. Testifying via closed-circuit television from a different room within the courthouse, E.M. — whose name is protected by a publication ban — recalled being nervous about hanging out with new friends on June 18, 2018. She said she was hesitant to go out but reluctant to turn down an invitation from her co-workers because it felt like a potential opportunity to get to know them better. She drank two Mike's Hard Lemonades as she got ready after work, which helped her feel a bit more relaxed, she said. When she arrived at Jack's Bar — a popular drinking establishment on Richmond Street — she had four shots in a short time, trying to calm her nerves. It was the beginning of a night of drinking that, she said, lowered her inhibitions, left her off balance and with blurry vision. She described a chaotic scene, with loud music and a packed dance floor. 'I was becoming less aware of my surroundings, my vision was a little blurry,' she said. 'Mentally, I felt all over the place.' In recalling that night, E.M. appeared nervous, admitting as much as she apologized several times when asking to have surveillance footage played back. As Crown Attorney Meaghan Cunningham questioned her about that night, she described being approached on the dance floor by a young man. After they danced for a little bit, he brought her over to meet another guy. His name was Mikey, she said. E.M. later identified him as McLeod. After taking several shots with 'Mikey,' she said she was already quite drunk. E.M. said that over the course of the night at Jack's she had eight shots, one mixed drink and one beer. Advertisement 'Mikey' was part of a group that she noticed seemed to stay together wherever they went, from the dance floor to the bar. 'They seemed close. They were really dancing together all in a group on the dance floor or going back to the bar together, getting shots and drinks,' she said. 'They were moving as a group.' At the bar, an older man — whom she believed to be in his late 30s — seemed to buy drinks for the group, and poured a shot into her mouth, she said. The man acted as 'wingman' for McLeod, she said. She recalled the man telling her that McLeod was a 'really good guy' and that she should 'take care of him.' On the dance floor, E.M. said she danced with McLeod, while the group of young men surrounded her. She described their actions as 'odd' and not something she was used to experiencing in a bar. 'I felt uncomfortable. They kept taking turns dancing with me. Everyone was really close together. I was feeling very sandwiched in,' she said. 'Just a lot of passing back and forth, I don't even think I was even aware at some point who I was dancing with. … They circled all around me and I was in the center of that.' It felt odd, she said, that 'Mikey' seemed OK with the other guys grabbing at her and pulling her away to dance with them. One would pick her up. And then others would push into her from both sides. There was a lot of uncomfortable touching. They grabbed her hand and tried to move it to their crotches, she said. In one clip, one of the men pulls on her ponytail. In another part of the video, a man picked her off the ground, lifting her up around his waist. At a different part of the clip, another man smacks her on the buttocks. E.M. told Cunningham that she could not recall any of those incidents. In a video taken from McLeod's phone, E.M. saw herself smiling, eyes closed inside a circle of the young men. She was very intoxicated, she said, and didn't realize the video was being taken. Watching another video, which featured a crush of dancing bodies and strobing lights, she identified herself and recalled what she was feeling at the time: 'It just felt very claustrophobic.' Advertisement She and McLeod kissed at the bar, she said. She said he mentioned he wanted to take her home and that he 'couldn't wait to have fun with me.' Initially, she said she was attracted to him. But as the night went on and she became more inebriated, she felt the need to 'regroup' in the bathroom. She hoped going to the bathroom might give her a way out of telling him no. She said she felt that because of their interactions for much of the night, he assumed they'd be going home together. 'In general, I'm just someone who has a bit of a hard time saying no and I don't like upsetting others and then when I'm drunk I think that kind of really shows,' she said. She said she felt OK going home with him, but said she wouldn't have done so if she hadn't been drunk. 'I thought it was maybe easier to kind of go along with that than to say no,' she said. E.M.'s testimony for the day ended with her and McLeod arriving at the Delta hotel. Prior to E.M.'s testimony, Boris Katchouk — a member of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team who now plays for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League — told jurors that he arrived to the Delta Armouries hotel shortly after 2:20 a.m. on June 19, 2018. He was heavily inebriated, he said, because he'd celebrated his birthday and the team's gold medal. Katchouk said he saw McLeod standing outside his room on the second floor, and he invited him in. Once there, McLeod asked Katchouk if he wanted a 'gummer' ('gummer' is slang for oral sex.) The 26-year-old Katchouk said that he saw a woman on the bed, underneath the covers. Cunningham asked Katchouk who else was in the room when McLeod asked him if he wanted oral sex. 'It was just me and Mikey,' Katchouk said. 'She was there on the bed as well, sorry.' Asked about his reaction to McLeod's question, Katchouk told Cunningham he had a girlfriend at the time, so 'there was nothing for me to really think about it.' He said he couldn't recall if the woman made any kind of reaction when McLeod made the comment. Advertisement 'I believe I just laughed and didn't really talk about it after that,' he said. McLeod left the room and a short time passed before he returned with Taylor Raddysh (another member of the 2018 team who was staying in the next room), Katchouk said. Katchouk testified that the three teammates spoke briefly in the room, before Raddysh said, 'Bo let's get out of here.' And then they left, Katchouk said. Raddysh, who now plays for the Washington Capitals, also testified remotely. Raddysh said he was only in the hotel room for a few minutes and didn't know whether the woman he saw on the bed, under the covers, was clothed or not; he said he only observed her trapezius muscles. The 27-year-old Raddysh answered questions by relying on a transcript of a July 2018 statement he made to investigators regarding the events from that weekend, and said that at one point during the early-morning hours of June 19, 2018, he heard 'talking,' 'chattering,' 'hooting' and 'hollering' from the room next door to his, which was McLeod's hotel room. (Courtroom sketch of defendants and Justice Maria Carroccia early in the trial / Alexandra Newbould / The Canadian Press via AP)
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Testimony in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial on hold due to ill juror
LONDON, Ont. – The jury in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial was dismissed Thursday morning because of a sick juror, Justice Maria Carroccia told the group assembled in Ontario Superior Court. There will be no testimony heard until Friday morning, when the juror is expected to return. Taylor Raddysh, a member of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team who now plays for the Washington Capitals, took the stand Wednesday and told jurors about text messages exchanged between him and Michael McLeod, a defendant in the case, in the early-morning hours of June 19, 2018, including one in which McLeod tells him to come to his room if he wants oral sex. Raddysh, who appeared remotely via a video-conferencing tool, also testified about a group chat message sent to 19 members of the 2018 team in which McLeod asks: 'who wants to be in 3 way quick.' Advertisement McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are all facing charges stemming from an alleged incident in which a 20-year-old woman said she was sexually assaulted by multiple players in a London, Ont., hotel room in June 2018 while the players and other members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team were in town for a Hockey Canada event celebrating their championship run. All five players pleaded not guilty last week. The jury has been dismissed early on multiple occasions this week. On Tuesday, court was adjourned because of technical issues. (Photo by)
New York Times
30-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Capitals' Taylor Raddysh testifies in Hockey Canada trial about texts from ‘that night in London'
LONDON, Ont. — Taylor Raddysh testified Wednesday in the Hockey Canada assault trial, telling jurors about text messages he exchanged with Michael McLeod, one of the five defendants. In one of the texts from the early-morning hours of June 19, 2019, McLeod tells Raddysh to come to his room if he wants oral sex. Advertisement McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are facing sexual assault charges stemming from an alleged incident in which a 20-year-old woman said she was sexually assaulted by multiple players in a London, Ont., hotel room in June 2018 while the players and other members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team were in town for a Hockey Canada event celebrating their championship run. All five players pleaded not guilty when arraigned in Ontario Superior Court last week. Raddysh, who now plays for the Washington Capitals, took the stand just hours before his team was set to play in Game 5 of its first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, testifying remotely from the Capitals' facility in Arlington, Va. He was the first player from that 2018 roster to testify in this trial. Raddysh was asked about the dynamics of the 2018 World Juniors team. 'We got along fairly well,' he said. 'It's obviously a fun tournament to be a part of, and as a kid you really want to be on that team when you grow up. It's an honor to be able to play there.' After identifying Dubé as the team's captain, Cunningham asked Raddysh whether that position has a role off the ice. 'Just a leader,' Raddysh said. 'Someone who … leads by example and kind of gets the group together.' He appeared visibly nervous when answering the slate of questions from Crown Attorney Meaghan Cunningham about his memories from the night of June 18 and into the early hours of June 19, 2018. He told Cunningham several times that he did not recall certain details and that even consulting the transcripts of what he told investigators previously would not help to refresh his memory. He told Cunningham that he did not recall coming back to the hotel that night and was not totally clear on interactions he had with others upon his return. He said in reading a transcript of his interview with London Police in August 2022, that he told police both McLeod and Boris Katchouk knocked on his hotel room door at one point. Raddysh said that he subsequently went to McLeod's room, where he remembered McLeod, Katchouk and 'a woman' being present. He said that he was 'pretty sure' she was on the bed when he arrived but that he did not recall whether the woman was clothed, how she was positioned on the bed or whether she said anything to him. He said he had some memory of going back to his room and, though he was not '100 percent' sure, he said he believed he was in McLeod's room for only 'a very short time.' Advertisement However, Raddysh clearly detailed elements of text exchanges between him and McLeod, as well as a group chat that contained 19 members of the 2018 World Juniors team. Raddysh testified that he was one of the members who received a text message from McLeod that was sent to the 19-member group at 2:10 a.m.: who wants to be in 3 way quick 209-mikey Raddysh said he didn't recall when he first noticed those messages but identified both McLeod and Carter Hart as participants in the chat. Hart replied at 2:19: I'm in At 2:15 a.m., prior to Hart's response to the group chat, McLeod sent Raddysh two text messages: Come to my room If u want a gummer Raddysh said he did not recall when he first saw the messages. When asked what he understood a 'gummer' to mean, he answered that he understood it to mean 'oral sex.' Raddysh did not respond to either of the above messages. Jurors were shown pictures of the text messages as well. Raddysh told Cunningham that he took screenshots of the messages. Prior to Raddysh's testimony, London Police detective Tiffany Waque continued her third day on the stand, showing jurors a number of surveillance videos and videos from players from the night of the alleged incident. The videos showed the complainant dancing in a tightly packed crowd at Jack's Bar close to McLeod. Shortly after, according to surveillance footage, she is approached by Dubé, who begins to dance with her and appears to place his arm around her back, while McLeod dances behind the complainant. A few minutes later, according to the surveillance video, as McLeod and the complainant are dancing, Brett Howden moves close behind her and dances with his hands in the air. Then, with the complainant sandwiched between them, McLeod appears to reach an arm around Howden's shoulders and hugs him. Advertisement Waque also showed the jury a selfie-style video taken by McLeod in which several members of the World Juniors team packed closely together, arms around each other, singing along to a remixed dance version of 'Hey Baby,' a song that was played each time the Canadian team scored at the 2018 World Juniors. Sometime after 1:20 a.m., McLeod and the complainant left Jack's, according to surveillance video. They arrived in a cab at the Delta hotel around 1:45 a.m. Surveillance video from the early-morning hours of June 19 showed players from the team returning to the Delta hotel at different times after 2:20 a.m. The last players shown to arrive were Max Comtois, Colton Point and Dubé, who was shirtless, shortly before 3:15 a.m. Jurors also saw a pair of videos taken by McLeod that show the complainant during the early-morning hours of June 19, the contents of which have previously been reported on by multiple news outlets. In the first video, taken at 3:25 a.m., the complainant appears clothed on camera. 'Hey, you're OK with this though, right?' she is asked by a voice beyond the camera. Several other male voices can be heard in the background. 'Yeah,' she says, looking up. 'You're OK with this?' the male voice asks again, quickly. 'I'm OK,' she says. 'OK,' the man says. In the second video, identified as being taken at 4:26 a.m., the complainant is shown holding a towel around her body. 'It was all consensual. Are you recording me?' she says, quickly. 'Yeah,' says a voice behind the camera. 'OK, good,' she says. 'This was all consensual. You are so paranoid, holy. I enjoyed it. It was fine. It was all consensual. I am so sober. That's why I can't do this right now.' The jury was then shown surveillance videos of the complainant walking through the lobby and leaving the hotel shortly after 4:46 a.m. She paces outside of the hotel, makes a phone call, and then gets into the back seat of an Uber. An image of a receipt from that ride showed that she arrived at her destination at 5:08 a.m. Advertisement The Crown also explained to the jury that they were planning to show multiple other exhibits of group chat messages from after the alleged incident on June 26 amongst 11 members of the team — Hart, Foote, Dubé, Comtois, McLeod, Howden, Formenton, Drake Batherson, Sam Steel, Tyler Steenbergen and Jake Bean — that were provided by USB from Batherson to London Police. The Crown told jurors that they will hear more about the content of those group chat messages through future witness testimony. The Crown also showed jurors multiple photos of the hotel room where the alleged incident took place, including interior photos that showed the orientation of the two beds in the room, the bathroom and the exit into the hallway. On Thursday morning, Raddysh will continue testimony as a Crown witness. Prior to Wednesday's adjournment, Cunningham asked Raddysh about events following the alleged incident, including a text exchange that took place on June 26, 2018. 'Bully just called me,' Raddysh texted McLeod. 'Said there's an investigation.' Raddysh told the court that 'Bully' likely referred to Shawn Bullock, a member of Hockey Canada's staff. When asked by Cunningham what the 'investigation' he referred to was about, Raddysh replied: 'That night in London.' — The Athletic's Dan Robson contributed reporting remotely from Toronto (Photo of Taylor Raddysh by Justin Berl / Getty Images)
New York Times
29-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Technology glitches mar second day of testimony at Hockey Canada trial
LONDON, Ont. — The Crown showed jurors a number of surveillance videos and at least one photo from social media during Tuesday's proceedings in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial, which were cut short by technical issues. In a sweltering hot courtroom on her second day of testimony, London Police detective Tiffany Waque, the Crown's first witness, played clips of videos that showed players from the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team and the complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial drinking, talking at the bar and dancing at Jack's — a bar and nightclub on Richmond Street that is popular amongst university and college students. Advertisement The video clips from a June evening in 2018, prior to the alleged incident at the Delta Armouries Hotel, are the first pieces of evidence presented in the Crown's case against the five defendants. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote are all facing sexual assault charges in connection with the alleged incident; all five players pleaded not guilty last week. The complainant, then 20, alleges that she was sexually assaulted in the hotel following a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the team's 2018 World Junior Championship run. At multiple points during Waque's testimony, the surveillance videos, many of which were not accompanied by sound, were paused to allow her to identify for the jury who was in the video and which camera angles from within Jack's — the main bar, an auxiliary bar, the dance floor — captured the video. One of the first videos showed Brett Howden approaching the complainant at the bar; a short time after, he returned with McLeod. The complainant and McLeod could be seen on video talking and, at one point, taking a shot together. Later, in another silent surveillance video, Waque identified McLeod and the complainant dancing together amid a crush of other people and strobing lights. In addition to surveillance video, Waque also showed jurors multiple videos from Drake Batherson and one from McLeod that show the players in various stages of revelry throughout their night at Jack's — jumping, singing and dancing together. One video showed Batherson, Howden and Cale Makar dancing to The Killers' 'Mr. Brightside' song. Another video showed Tyler Steenbergen and Makar with Chris Brown's 'Yeah 3x' in the background. A third video showed McLeod, Batherson, Howden, Foote and Maxime Comtois huddled in a semicircle, facing the camera, singing along to the song 'Pursuit of Happiness' by Kid Cudi: I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know Everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold Advertisement Matt Maccarone, who was identified as a 'sponsor but not part of the team,' was shown in multiple videos talking with players at the bar. Jurors also saw one video that featured Howden, McLeod and Jake Bean, the latter of whom was sitting on Maccarone's shoulders. The five players who are defendants in the case watched the videos from their respective defense tables. There were multiple delays in Tuesday's proceedings because of technical issues within the courtroom. Justice Maria Carroccia, who is presiding, explained that there was a piece of equipment that was 'overheating' because of the temperature of the courtroom. Carroccia dismissed the jurors early for the day telling them: 'We've got no choice. We can't get the equipment to work properly and … it's very, very hot.' — The Athletic's Dan Robson contributed reporting remotely from Toronto. (Photo by Peter Power / AFP via Getty Images)
New York Times
20-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Players in Stanley Cup playoffs may be called to testify in Hockey Canada trial
By Chris Johnston, Michael Russo and Katie Strang Members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team currently playing for NHL teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs could be called as witnesses during a sexual assault trial that is slated to begin next week in London, Ont. Teams have yet to be notified if the players will be required to travel to London to take the stand or if they may participate virtually, league sources told The Athletic. Advertisement 'It's not finalized but we were told players in the playoffs would have to be accommodated,' said an agent for one of the players. 'That must mean video.' The agent added that while he didn't expect his client to be required to travel to London during the playoffs, a criminal lawyer advised him that the decision would depend on the 'mood of the court.' One general manager of a playoff team with a potential witness on its roster added: 'My thoughts would be that it would be virtual. That's what I expect.' There are other players who could be called to testify who no longer play in the NHL or are on teams that did not qualify for the playoffs. An NHL official told The Athletic that 'everyone who has been asked to participate has indicated a willingness to do it, as far as I know.' That official believes that the players will be 'participating in various ways depending on circumstance.' The trial is expected to last approximately eight weeks, meaning it could extend into the Stanley Cup Final. Five players from that 2018 World Juniors team — Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Cal Foote — will stand trial on sexual assault charges stemming from a June 2018 incident in which a 20-year-old woman alleged she was assaulted over several hours in a London hotel room. The alleged sexual assault took place following a Hockey Canada gala celebrating the group's championship. In the woman's original statement of claim, filed in Ontario Superior Court in April 2022, she said there were eight players in the room when she was allegedly assaulted. Nineteen of the 22 members of the Canadian World Juniors team attended the festivities in London. Of those 19, five were charged with assault. (McLeod is the only one of the five facing two charges; he was also charged 'for being a party to the offense.') Advertisement Seven players currently in the playoffs were in London the weekend the alleged incident occurred: Brett Howden (Vegas Golden Knights), Drake Batherson (Ottawa Senators), Taylor Raddysh (Washington Capitals), Sam Steel (Dallas Stars), Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche), Jonah Gadjovich (Florida Panthers) and Robert Thomas (St. Louis Blues). Another seven are no longer in the NHL or are on teams that did not make the playoffs: Colton Point (last played in ECHL), Dante Fabbro (Columbus Blue Jackets), Conor Timmins (Pittsburgh Penguins), Jake Bean (Calgary Flames), Tyler Steenbergen (last played in Europe), Maxime Comtois (KHL) and Boris Katchouk (AHL). None of those 14 players have been charged with a crime. Jordan Kyrou, Victor Mete and Kale Clague were on the 2018 championship team but were not in London the weekend of the alleged incident. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; top photos: Adam Glanzman, Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
