Latest news with #DillionDube
New York Times
23-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Judge rules against Crown's bid to have Brett Howden's text admitted
A text message sent by Brett Howden to a teammate describing Dillion Dubé smacking the complainant in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial is not admissible as evidence, the judge in the high-profile case ruled on Friday. Justice Maria Carroccia denied the Crown's request to have admitted as evidence a text sent by Howden to Taylor Raddysh on June 26, 2018, in which he described relief having left a London, Ont., hotel room after a woman was slapped on the buttocks by Dubé. Advertisement 'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all that sh– went down. Ha, ha,' Howden wrote to Taylor Raddysh, also adding, 'Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl's ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.' Howden and Raddysh were roommates at the hotel, where they stayed during a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. Neither Howden — now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights — nor Raddysh, who plays for the Washington Capitals, are accused of wrongdoing. After Howden was unable to recall the events described in the text message during testimony earlier this week, Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham appealed to have it included as evidence as 'past recollection recorded.' The prosecution and defense attorneys for the five accused former members of the 2018 World Junior team charged with sexual assault argued over its admissibility during a voir dire hearing on Thursday. In her ruling on Friday, Carroccia said that though the text message met several criteria for 'past recollection recorded' — it was timely, Howden believed he was being honest when he wrote it, but could not remember sending it — it could not be admitted because its reliability and accuracy could not be proved. 'This is a text message sent to a friend during a casual conversation. It is not a statement made under oath,' she said. Howden is a key witness in the Crown's case against the five former members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior team accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early hours of June 19, 2018, while in London, Ont., for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. Dubé, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote have all pleaded not guilty. The Crown says that McLeod, Hart and Dubé all obtained oral sex from E.M. without her consent, and that Formenton had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent. The Crown has also told the jury that Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with another person, and that Foote did the splits and grazed his genitals over her face as she laid on the ground. Advertisement On Thursday, Howden recalled being shocked when he read the contents of his text exchange with Raddysh during a later Hockey Canada investigation. He said he could not recall sending those messages. But he told Cunnigham that he had 'no reason to lie' at the time. Howden's fuzzy memory has been a topic of heated discussion since Tuesday, when he first appeared on the stand as the Crown witness. Despite having access to transcripts from past statements he made to Hockey Canada investigators and police, Howden repeatedly said he couldn't recall details about the alleged incident. That prompted Cunningham to accuse him of being dishonest about his lack of memory. After a voir dire hearing over a Canada Evidence Act application by the Crown to be able to cross-examine its own witness, Carroccia ruled that she did not believe Howden was feigning a lack of memory — but that there were some inconsistencies he could be further questioned on. The Crown then brought its application to have Howden's texts admitted as 'past recollection recorded,' which essentially means that past statements can be admitted when a witness cannot remember making them (if they meet specific criteria). After that application was rejected on Friday, the Crown appealed to have the text messages included through a hearsay application, to admit an out-of-court statement as truthful so it can be considered as evidence. Legal arguments between the Crown and defense have been heard throughout the morning session. The trial continues next week. (Courtroom sketch of Justice Maria Carroccia sitting before several of the defendants earlier in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial in London, Ont., by Alexandra Newbould / The Canadian Press via AP)
New York Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Judge weighs text evidence after Brett Howden's emotional testimony
LONDON, Ont. – The judge in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial will decide whether text messages Brett Howden sent to a teammate describing Dillion Dubé smacking the complainant's buttocks are admissible as evidence. 'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all that sh– went down. Ha, ha,' Howden wrote to Taylor Raddysh, also adding: 'Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl's ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.' Advertisement On Thursday, Justice Maria Carroccia heard arguments from both the Crown and defense as to whether the text exchange between Howden and Raddysh could be submitted as evidence as 'past recollections recorded.' Court ended early, as Carroccia said she needed time to make a ruling on the key piece of the prosecution's evidence. Carroccia is expected to deliver her ruling on Friday morning. Howden sent the text message to Raddysh on June 26, 2018, as the former 2018 Canadian World Junior teammates learned that Hockey Canada was opening an investigation into allegations that a woman had been sexually assaulted by several members of that team a week earlier in a London, Ont., hotel room. Howden and Raddysh were roommates at the hotel, where they stayed during a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. Neither Howden nor Raddysh are accused of wrongdoing. On Thursday morning, Howden — now a member of the Vegas Golden Knights — appeared in court via video feed from Las Vegas, where he resides. As he was questioned by Lisa Carnelos, counsel for Dubé, Howden grew visibly emotional as he recalled learning about the Hockey Canada investigation and having to tell his father about the incidents. Carnelos later pressed Howden about his state of mind at the time. 'You're scared of a number of things,' she said. 'You're scared of your dad.' Howden paused, and appeared to choke up. 'It was one of the hardest things to go through,' he said. Carnelos pressed further, asking about his girlfriend at the time. 'That girlfriend was very important to you right?' 'Yes,' Howden said. 'She's my wife.' 'You've just had your second child with her, correct?' Howden's face grew red. 'Yeah,' he said. 'Congratulations,' Carnelos said. At that, Howden began to cry. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' he said, composing himself after Carroccia asked him if he needed a moment. Advertisement The exchange underscored a second day of testimony from Howden. In his first appearance on the stand Wednesday, he repeatedly said he couldn't recall details about the alleged incident, prompting Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham to accuse him of being dishonest about his lack of memory. Howden continued to insist he didn't remember specifics even when given access to transcripts from past statements he made to Hockey Canada investigators and police. During a voir dire hearing on Wednesday over a Canada Evidence Act application by the Crown seeking to cross-examine Howden, prosecutors and the defense argued over Howden's truthfulness on the stand. After a day of deliberations, Carroccia found that she didn't believe Howden was feigning memory loss, but agreed that there were elements of his testimony that were inconsistent with his past statements. Carroccia ruled that four areas out of the 18 Cunningham presented could be further questioned. During arguments on Wednesday, Megan Savard — attorney for Carter Hart — said that Howden was an unsophisticated, inarticulate witness who didn't even dress properly for court. Howden appeared in a hoodie during his first day on the stand. When Howden returned to the stand on Thursday, he wore a white polo shirt and appeared more forthright in his answers. He is the fourth member of the 2018 World Junior team called as a Crown witness. Raddysh, Boris Katchouk and Tyler Steenbergen have already testified. Howden's former World Junior teammates — Dubé, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote — looked on from the courtroom. They are each accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early hours of June 19, 2018, after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont. All five players pleaded not guilty in the trial, which is now in its fifth week. Advertisement The Crown says that McLeod, Hart and Dubé all obtained oral sex from E.M. without her consent, and that Formenton had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent. The Crown has also told the jury that Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with another person, and that Foote did the splits and grazed his genitals over her face as she laid on the ground. Howden recalled being shocked when he read the contents of his text exchange with Raddysh during a later Hockey Canada investigation. He said he could not recall sending those messages. But he told Cunningham that he had 'no reason to lie' at the time. Later, Carnelos pressed Howden about his state of mind and the casual nature of the text messages he exchanged about the incident in 2018. He said it was hard to remember details, but recalled being stressed and scared at the time. 'For so long, I've been trying to move on past this and forget about it,' Howden said. 'I remember the gist of what happened that night, but it's hard for me to go back in that time and remember it.' Carnelos and other members of the defense argued that the text messages should be dismissed because Howden was not attempting to be accurate when he wrote them and did not expect them to be used as evidence seven years later. Later, when Cunningham re-examined Howden, she again asked him whether — even if he doesn't recall the events described — he believed he was being truthful when he wrote the text message. 'I believe what I said back then,' he said. 'I was being honest.' (Photo of Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights by Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
New York Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Hockey Canada trial judge limits Crown's efforts to press Brett Howden
LONDON, Ont. – After a day of arguing over Brett Howden's truthfulness, the judge in the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial said she did not believe he feigned a lack of memory during his testimony, as prosecutors alleged. But Justice Maria Carroccia did agree there were some inconsistencies that could be questioned. Advertisement Howden — now a member of the Las Vegas Golden Knights — is a key Crown witness in the case against five of his former teammates from the 2018 Canadian World Junior team who are accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early hours of June 19, 2018, after a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ont. Earlier, Howden's inability to recall details of the events at the center of this trial was challenged by Crown prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham, who suggested that Howden was being dishonest to protect his former teammates. 'Mr. Howden's memory loss is a feigned memory loss, not a sincere one,' Cunningham said. On Wednesday, Cunningham made a Canada Evidence Act application, under section 9-2, which allows a party producing a witness to cross-examine them because they feel past statements they made are inconsistent with their current testimony. Carroccia heard arguments from both the Crown and defense throughout the day's deliberations and ruled against the Crown on the issue of his memory. In past statements, Howden has said that he heard the complainant at the center of this trial 'weeping' the night of the alleged attack and that he heard Dillion Dubé smack her buttocks so hard 'it looked like it hurt so bad.' But during his testimony, Howden said he was unable to recall many details about what occurred in the early hours of June 19, 2018. Cunningham outlined what she said were 18 issues and inconsistencies between Howden's testimony and his past statements about the incidents to Hockey Canada investigators, police and in text messages to his teammates after the incident. Dubé, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton and Cal Foote have all pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. They each sat at separate tables in the courtroom next to their counsel and Howden appeared by a video feed from Las Vegas, where he resides. Advertisement The complainant in the case has testified that after a night of drinking and dancing at Jack's bar she went to a hotel with McLeod and engaged in consensual sex. Afterward, she said, men showed up in the hotel room without her consent and over a couple of hours she was coaxed into sexual acts against her will. The Crown says that McLeod, Hart and Dubé all obtained oral sex from E.M. without her consent, and that Formenton had vaginal sex with E.M. without her consent. The Crown has also told the jury that Dubé slapped E.M.'s naked buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with another person, and that Foote did the splits and grazed his genitals over her face as she laid on the ground. After a day of arguments between the Crown and defense, Carroccia ruled that four of those 18 areas could be further examined by Cunningham because of inconsistencies between Howden's testimony and past statements. Those areas include his recollection of Dube smacking the complainant's buttocks, and his interactions with Formenton before he had sex with E.M. in the hotel bathroom. Cunningham will now confer with defense attorneys on how to proceed regarding those areas. On Tuesday, Howden testified that he couldn't recall how he felt after hearing Dubé slap E.M. in the hotel room. But during her appeal on Wednesday, Cunningham referred to past statements in which Howden said the smack had drawn 'a line for me to leave' and that it 'pushed me out the door.' Cunningham also discussed a text message Howden sent to Taylor Raddysh, his roommate at the hotel, on June 26, after learning of Hockey Canada's investigation into the incident. Howden was allowed to read it during his testimony. 'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all that sh– went down. Ha, ha,' he wrote. He also wrote: 'Man, when I was leaving, Duber was smacking this girl's ass so hard. It looked like it hurt so bad.' Advertisement Howden also said during his testimony that he didn't know if E.M. was clothed at the time of the slap, but Cunningham noted, in the past he told investigators that 'it sounded like it was skin to skin.' In past statements, Howden also described hearing E.M. crying. 'I just heard her kind of weeping, and I didn't know, like, what was going on. I went to my room because I didn't want to be part of anything,' Howden said to lawyer Danielle Robitaille, hired by Hockey Canada to conduct its investigation in 2018. When Robitaille asked him whether he saw her or heard her, he replied, 'I didn't physically see her crying, but I heard — it sounded like crying anyway.' In response to the Crown's appeal, Megan Savard — counsel for Hart — said that Howden was clearly a 'plainly unsophisticated' and 'inarticulate' witness who was careless with words. She noted that he didn't even appear dressed for court. Howden wore a hoodie during his first day of testimony. Savard, arguing from past legal precedents, noted that in order to grant the Crown's request to cross-examine its own witness, Carroccia had to decide that there is evidence of collusion in Howden's testimony and that he was prepared to perjure himself 'for a group of men he hasn't really talked to in seven years.' 'That is a pretty tall order on the record we have,' Savard said. Savard noted that Howden was prone to overstatement, retraction and then more overstatement. 'I would say, if anything, we may all say at the end of the day this witness is generally useless, but certainly not helpful to the defense,' she said. Hilary Dudding, counsel for Formenton, argued that Howden's testimony was not inconsistent with past statements — rather, it was a matter of 'loose speech' — with the intent of what he was conveyed remaining the same. Advertisement Lisa Carnelos, counsel for Dubé, argued that Howden was a 'straw man witness' and that the Crown was well aware of his 'legitimate memory issues' before the trial. Wednesday's proceedings highlighted the chasm between what the Crown is able to address via present testimony and what remains inadmissible as a result of pre-trial motion rulings. While Cunningham may potentially question Howden about the discrepancies from his present testimony and previous statements, the Crown will not have that same opportunity to refer back to previous statements made by some of the accused. In a pre-trial ruling in December 2024, Justice Bruce Thomas decided that certain 2022 statements — from McLeod, Formenton and Dubé — gathered by Henein Hutchison, a third-party law firm that Hockey Canada hired to perform an arm's-length investigation, were inadmissible because they 'offended their right to a fair trial.' Thomas, in his ruling, said that these statements were not admissible because they were not made voluntarily. In his ruling, Thomas found that cooperation from those individuals was coerced under threat of a lifetime ban from Hockey Canada and public disclosure of those who refused to participate in interviews. — The Athletic's Kamila Hinkson reported remotely from Montreal. The Athletic's Katie Strang contributed additional reporting. (Courtroom sketch of Crown prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham from earlier in the trial by Alexandra Newbould / The Canadian Press via AP)
