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Time of India
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
As Hart questioned about intent and group message, he appears to shift responsibility onto Michael McLeod in the 2018 Hockey Canada assault trial
Carter Hart, testifying as a defense witness in the high-profile 2018 Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. This was pressed by Crown prosecutors over his actions and decisions on the night of the alleged assault. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now During questioning, Hart admitted to replying to a group text from teammate Michael McLeod that invited players to his hotel room. Hart responded affirmatively, though he claimed he believed the invitation was meant specifically for him. The message was sent to the entire team and suggested a planned sexual encounter. Despite that, Hart stated he didn't interpret it as a group proposition, he also conceded he never asked about the woman's age. Also, her sobriety or interest before arriving at the room. Hart's memory gaps raise more questions than answers Hockey Canada trial: Carter Hart called to testify During the proceedings, Hart was unable to recall key details from that night. He admitted to drinking and being hopeful for sexual encounters, though he claimed not to have fully decided on participating when he responded to the message. When asked about McLeod's clothing at the scene, Hart gave conflicting answers. Hart implies McLeod was a moral decision-maker Michael McLeod #20 of the New Jersey Devils (Credit: Getty Image) One of the most revealing moments came when Hart acknowledged he relied heavily on McLeod to make the situation morally acceptable. When asked if he trusted McLeod to arrange something appropriate, Hart simply said yes. This remark seemed to shift responsibility. This suggests McLeod played a leading role in organizing the encounter. He could not explain why he tried to bring more players into the room, particularly Dante Fabbro, other than to give the woman a reason to stay. Read more: Hart's testimony, while defensive, opened new lines of inquiry and potentially placed greater scrutiny on McLeod. The trial continues as the court works to unravel what truly occurred that night in the London hotel room.
Toronto Star
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Toronto Star
Hockey Canada trial: What happened when the prosecutor faced off with the goalie
The Crown and the goalie. If this had been a penalty shot, the goalie stoned her. When Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham opened her cross-examination of Carter Hart on Friday, it quickly became evident that she was going in with elbows up. 'Would you agree with me that …' and 'I'm going to suggest to you that …' — these are standard gambits to hurl questions that are actually statements, basically drawing the witness into an acquiescent, even complicit, response. The interrogator can't venture into areas that haven't already been explored under questioning in chief. So, to start, Cunningham returned to how much Hart had to drink on that night of June 18, 2018, as most of the Canadian world junior championship team had hit a couple of London, Ont. saloons — Joe Kool's, Jack's Bar — following a Hockey Canada charity gala where they'd received their rings. In Hart's estimation: five to eight drinks at the gala, three or four pints of beer at Joe Kool's, three to five dollar-beers at Jack's. It was only the third time he'd consumed alcohol in his life, thus an inexperienced drinker, thus drunk. At 1:13 a.m., Hart sent out a group text. 'Rippers anyonr(sic) and then I'm going.' Ripper is slang for strip club. Cunningham: 'At this point in the night, you're in the mood to see naked women?' Yes, said Hart, he was. The witness had already frankly stated that his objective that evening was to get drunk and have sex. Hardly a scandalizing intention for a healthy 19-year-old male out on the town celebrating. In any event, none of his mates took Hart up on the peeler-bar suggestion. It was then, at 2:10, that Hart received a text from teammate Michael McLeod. 'Who wants to be in a 3-way quick'' and he'd responded, 'I'm in.' Canada 'The whole night was weird, wasn't it?' Prosecution cross-examines ex-NHLer Carter Hart at Hockey Canada sexual assault trial 'I'm going to suggest that at no time in the room did you ever take her aside and say 'Are you Sounding rather like a disapproving schoolmarm, Cunningham observed that now Carter was about to achieve both his immediate ambitions. 'You got to do both those things at the same time.' And, because of the 'quick'' postscript, the text invite was a 'time-limited offer,' suggested Cunningham. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'You thought you were only agreeing to a sexual encounter with McLeod and a woman. At this moment, you have no idea who this mystery woman was, right?' The McLeod text 'calls for Mr. McLeod to speculate what the woman might or might not want to do.' Hart: 'I had assumed it was an agreed plan with the girl. Usually, most people don't send out a text if you have a person who is not agreeing to it.' Cunningham: 'You're just assuming that he wouldn't make that invitation if it wasn't something she'd be interested in.' Hart: 'Correct.' Canada 'I just didn't care': Why a Hockey Canada investigator's 'unfair' probe led to the exclusion of a 'virtual treasure trove' of evidence The players were 'compelled' to sit for an interview with Hockey Canada. But they weren't told The witness said he hadn't actually yet made up his mind on going through with the threesome, despite having a brief conversation with McLeod as he walked back to the Delta Armouries hotel with two teammates, Alex Formenton and Rob Thomas. 'Did you like the idea of engaging in sex with Mr. McLeod and a woman?' asked Cunningham. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'I was open to the idea, but I hadn't made up my mind. I hadn't met her yet.' Cunningham rounded on the witness. 'You don't know her age, her level of intoxication, her degree of willingness, and despite not knowing any of these things, you say, 'I'm in.' 'You were drunk that night, you were hoping for sexual encounters that night. You didn't meet anyone for that purpose and now, all of a sudden, this opportunity has presented itself. I'm going to suggest to you that you didn't have any reservations. You were in. You were putting a lot of faith in your friend, Mr. McLeod, to set something up that was morally acceptable to you.' If this was the prosecutor wielding her hammer, Hart wasn't rattled. With his mother in the courtroom — as she has been throughout — Hart had already spent a full day under questioning from defence lawyers, giving a fairly detailed account — despite memory lapses — of everything he did, what his teammates did, inside Room 209: that he'd obtained oral sex from a woman whose name he didn't know, that oral sex was performed on two other teammates, that Formenton and the woman had intercourse in the bathroom and that (a clothed) Cal Foote had executed the splits over the woman's face. That woman is the complainant, known only as E.M. under a publication ban. E.M. has testified that she had consensual sex with McLeod after they left Jack's Bar, but that she hadn't consented to anything that happened later, when up to 10 players converged in McLeod's room, at least some of them in response to his group invite for a threesome. Hart, McLeod, Formenton, Foote and Dillon Dube have all pleaded not guilty. Cunningham banged away, drilling down on details, splitting hairs about memory gaps, circling, pecking. Too many blank spaces in the narrative, she asserted. 'You spent more time in that room doing things for which you have no memory than things for which you do have memory.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But Hart remained calmly consistent in his testimony, unflappable — everything that happed in that room was consensual and it was E.M. who was the aggressor, urging the players to 'f—- me,' pouting when they declined and threatening to leave if nobody stepped up. As Hart did, for oral sex, even though he couldn't get a full erection and pulled away within a minute, no longer keen, struck by the weirdness of it all. 'I'd never seen a girl act like that, forward and sexually demanding. She was feeling comfortable to say those things in front of everybody.' Cunningham countered that it was merely Hart's 'perception' that E.M. was annoyed when 'nothing was happening.' Hart had said Thursday that he'd sent a text to another teammate, romantically unattached, inviting him up. 'I'm going to suggest that it was you who wanted to keep the party going, you wanted to keep her there for sexual activity because no one else seemed interested.' Hart: 'Possibly.' Cunningham moved into the area of Foote performing the splits over E.M., a flexibility party trick that he'd often shown teammates. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Do you know what teabagging is?'' Cunningham asked. Indeed he did — technically, performing the manoeuvre over a sexual partner's face and placing the scrotum in their mouth for sexual pleasure. Or, as Cunningham put it to the witness: 'It's where a guy sort of squats and lowers himself over someone's face and dangles testicles in their face or mouth. 'That's what's being suggested, right?' Hart disagreed, insisting Foote hadn't removed his shorts and he'd never touched E.M. Cunningham asked six ways from Sunday if Hart was sure that things had never got out of hand in that room. 'Yes. If something happened that she didn't want, I would have left or other guys would have put a stop to it.' All we know for certain is that E.M. never put a stop to it. She said so under oath.
Hamilton Spectator
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
‘The whole night was weird, wasn't it?' Prosecution cross-examines ex-NHLer Carter Hart at Hockey Canada sexual assault trial
While Carter Hart has testified about being in a London, Ont., hotel room with a woman demanding to have sex with his teammates, the Crown suggested Friday that the players were determined 'to keep her there and do sexual things because it was fun for you guys.' It was Hart's second day in the witness box as the first accused player to testify in his own defence at the high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial. He testified Thursday that after a night of drinking, he went to teammate Michael McLeod's room at the Delta Armouries hotel in response to a text about a three-way, only to find several of his teammates already there and a woman masturbating on a bedsheet on the floor, asking: 'Can somebody come f—- me?' The Crown completed its evidence at the Hockey Canada sex assault trial on Thursday morning. Here's what you need to know to catch up, starting The Crown completed its evidence at the Hockey Canada sex assault trial on Thursday morning. Here's what you need to know to catch up, starting Hart said in response to the woman's demand, he asked her 'for a blowie, meaning blowjob,' and she responded 'yeah' or 'sure,' crawled toward him, and helped pull down his pants. The oral sex lasted about 30 to 60 seconds. On Friday during cross-examination, Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham questioned whether he took any additional steps to confirm the woman's consent. 'I'm going to suggest that at no time in the room did you ever take her aside and say 'Are you sure you really want to be doing this?'' Cunningham said. 'Seconds later, your penis is in her mouth, and you don't follow up with any sort of 'Are you sure this is really OK? Are you down for this?'' He said he had no memory of doing that but also had no doubts that the woman was consenting. Hart, McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, and Cal Foote, all former members of the 2018 Canadian world junior championship team, have pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the then-20-year-old woman in the early hours on June 19, 2018, in room 209. Her identity is covered by a standard publication ban. The woman had met McLeod at Jack's Bar and returned to his room where they had consensual sex, only for multiple men to come in afterward. While she didn't say no nor physically resist, she testified she only engaged in the sexual activity as a coping mechanism for being in a room full of men she didn't know. She testified she was crying at times and would try to leave, but the men would always coax her to stay. Hart completed his testimony on Friday. It remains to be seen whether Formenton, Dubé, and Foote will testify; they are not required to, as the burden of proving a criminal charge always remains with the Crown. Formenton's lawyers said they will confirm whether he's testifying Monday. McLeod's lawyers already indicated this week he will not be testifying. 'There were other guys in the room looking and I do remember making eye contact with somebody,' the former goalie said. 'There were other guys in the room looking and I do remember making eye contact with somebody,' the former goalie said. Cunningham put to Hart on Friday that the men took 'affirmative steps' to get the woman to stay and that Hart, in particular, went out of his way to make sure she would stay by texting teammate Dante Fabbro to come to the room, thinking he might want to have sex with her. (There's no indication that Fabbro ever came.) 'She kept asking for guys to have sex with her, and I knew that Dante was another single guy on the team,' Hart said. He said it felt to him that the woman was 'super excited to be there' and didn't want to leave, given how 'forward' she was being in her offers for sex. 'I'd never experienced or seen a girl act like that, I don't know the right word, I think maybe just forward and sexually demanding,' he testified. But why do you care whether this woman, a total stranger, gets what she's demanding, Cunningham asked Hart. A composite image of London police Det. Steve Newton's handwritten notes on the complainant's comments during a June 26, 2018, photo-identification interview. Michael McLeod, Dillon Dubé, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton are all on trial for sexual assault. (The officer's notes have been excerpted to fit in a single image.) 'I'm going to suggest you must have felt there was something in it for you to go and find another guy willing to have sex with her,' Cunningham said. 'I'm going to suggest it's because you wanted to keep the party going.' Hart repeated that the woman just kept demanding to have sex, even after leaving the hotel room's bathroom with Formenton, where they had intercourse. 'I'm going to suggest it's your understanding that if no one presents themselves, if no one steps up as tribute, say, she would leave, right?' Cunningham asked Hart. That was his understanding, but he said he wasn't sure how he felt at the time about the woman staying. Aside from the oral sex allegation against Hart, the Crown has also alleged that McLeod had intercourse with the woman a second time in the bathroom; Formenton separately had intercourse with her in the bathroom; McLeod and Dubé obtained oral sex; Dubé slapped her naked buttocks, and Foote did the splits over her body and his genitals 'grazed' her face. The complainant herself didn't identify Hart to the police, but other players testified they saw him receive oral sex. Cunningham put to Hart that until he arrived in the hotel room, there had been no prior discussion about what this 'mystery woman' might have wanted to do, and he really didn't know anything about her. All he knew was McLeod had sent a text to a players' group chat about coming to his room for a three-way, and he had also spoken briefly on the phone with McLeod, who said he had a woman in his room who wanted to have sex with some of his teammates. 'So you'd agree with me then that anything you knew about her willingness or interest in engaging in sexual activity, anything you knew about that before you arrived at the Delta hotel, came directly from Mr. McLeod?' Cunningham asked Hart. 'I'm going to suggest, Mr. Hart, you were putting a lot faith in your friend Mr. McLeod to set something up that was morally acceptable to you.' Hart agreed. He was open to the idea of going as he was a single 19-year-old man at the time hoping for a sexual encounter, who had also expressed an interest in the group chat to going to see 'rippers' — meaning strippers — prior to McLeod's 3-way text. But he maintained in his testimony he wasn't going to make up his mind until he was in the room and saw the woman. 'I hadn't met the woman yet, so I hadn't seen what she looked like or if she was OK with it,' he said Friday. A screenshot of a group chat involving members of Canada's 2018 world junior championship team. Hart had replied 'I'm in' in response to McLeod's text, but disagreed with Cunningham's suggestion that he knew the activity could actually involve more than three people. Cunningham also pointed to examples of Hart's 'faulty memory' of being in the room: he couldn't quite remember what McLeod was wearing when he first walked in or of McLeod getting food that players then ate, he couldn't remember if player Brett Howden was there — Howden has testified he was — and he couldn't remember McLeod recording videos of the complainant on his phone saying she was consenting while smiling . This despite the fact that Hart can be heard in the background of one of the videos saying 'I'll get Fabbs, I'll get Fabbs,' in relation Fabbro, whom he texted two minutes after the video was taken, writing: 'Get to 209.' Hart also couldn't recall if he received oral sex from the woman a second time, something McLeod told police in a 2018 statement , nor could he recall anyone slapping the complainant. Asked if it's possible that happened, Hart replied: 'It's hard to say because I don't think anybody would have done anything to hurt her.' He repeated what he testified Thursday, which is that if he saw anything done to the complainant that she didn't want or that was disrespectful or degrading, he would have put a stop to it or left. 'So you know for sure you never felt like things were getting out of hand in that room, even though you can only remember less than half of what took place?' Cunningham asked him. Hart said yes. Cal Foote does the splits at Jack's Bar in London on the night of June 18-19, 2018, while teammates Brett Howden (on the far side of Foote, in white with a lighter-coloured backwards ball cap) and Dillon Dubé (in white on the near side of Foote) clear space on the dance floor. Hart, who played as a goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers prior to his arrest last year, also testified Thursday about seeing Foote doing the splits over the complainant's body while she was lying on the ground between the beds; he said he was sure Foote was clothed and his body did not make contact with the complainant's, who he said was laughing. He explained that the splits were a 'pretty cool thing' that Foote was able to do upon request; surveillance footage shows he did the splits on the dancefloor at Jack's earlier that night. Men in the hotel room were egging him on to do it again, Hart said. 'Like hey Footer, do the splits,' Hart said. 'That was just kind of a thing he did. He's a big, tall dude, super flexible.' A photo of room 209 at the Delta Armouries hotel in London, Ont., marked up by Carter Hart during his testimony, depicting Cal Foote doing the splits over the complainant while she's on a bedsheet on the floor, as well as the positions of other players. Player Tyler Steenbergen also previously testified he partially saw Foote do the splits, but couldn't see what he was wearing, while the complainant herself testified that the genitals of the person who did the splits made contact with her face but she couldn't identify who it was. On Friday, Cunningham had Hart draw the splits on a photo of the hotel room. She suggested that Foote doing the splits, but without his pants, was just one more thing the players were trying to do to keep the woman in the room, seeing as most of them didn't actually want to have sex with her. Cunningham first confirmed with Hart if knew what 'teabagging' meant, which she defined as 'when a guy sort of squats or lowers himself over someone's face and dunks his testicles into her face or mouth.' 'You'd agree with me from your perspective there's nothing particularly exciting about seeing a fully clothed guy, who everyone already knows can do the splits, do the splits, right?' Cunningham said. Hart agreed. 'What would be more exciting,' the Crown attorney continued, 'would be to see a man with no pants on do the splits right over (the complainant's) face, essentially teabagging her. Don't you agree that'd be more exciting?' Hart responded: 'I mean, that'd be pretty weird.' Cunningham shot back: 'Well, the whole night was weird, wasn't it?' Hart agreed.
CBC
20 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Ex-teammate's testimony, police interviews mark consequential week at Hockey Canada sex assault trial
The Latest The sexual assault trial of five former Hockey Canada world junior players continued today in Ontario Superior Court in London. Carter Hart was cross-examined by the Crown. He began his testimony yesterday, as a defence witness. Assistant Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham drilled down into Hart's specific memories of what happened in the hotel room on the night of the alleged assaults. Hart's defence team rested its case. Earlier this week, a retired detective who interviewed some of the players testified as videos were shown in court. Alex Formenton's defence counsel are taking the weekend to decide whether they will call evidence. All five men on trial — Hart, Formenton, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod — have pleaded not guilty.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Hockey Canada sexual assault trial update: Carter Hart breaks silence, claims the woman 'willingly participated" in the sexual activity
Carter Hart testified that the complainant willingly participated in the sexual activity (Nicole Osborne/The Canadian Press) The ongoing sexual assault trial involving five former members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Hockey team took a pivotal turn this week as NHL goalie Carter Hart took the witness stand. Hart is the first among the accused to testify in the high-profile case that has rocked the Canadian hockey world and drawn national attention since allegations emerged over an incident during a Hockey Canada gala in London, Ontario. Group sexual assault case involving Hockey Canada players continues amid controversy and courtroom disruptions — CityNewsVAN (@CityNewsVAN) Carter Hart told the Ontario Superior Court that the woman at the center of the case — identified only as E.M. due to a publication ban — "willingly participated" in the sexual activity that occurred in a hotel room following the June 2018 event. He claimed E.M. never objected or expressed discomfort during the encounter. "She willingly participated in the sexual activities... and did not express any objections," Hart stated under oath. Hart's legal team took a direct aim at the credibility of prosecution witness Brett Howden, an NHL player with the Vegas Golden Knights. Howden, who testified remotely, was cross-examined regarding inconsistencies in his memory of the night. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like One of the Most Successful Investors of All Time, Warren Buffett, Recommends: 5 Books for Turning... Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Click Here Hart's lawyer, Megan Savard, suggested Howden's recollection could be impaired due to a prior head injury, raising doubts about the reliability of his testimony. Trial plagued by procedural issues and jury dismissal This trial, which began after a previous one was derailed by a mistrial, has already seen significant disruption. Earlier this month, the jury was dismissed when jurors expressed concern over feeling mocked by defense lawyers — a rare occurrence in Canadian courtrooms. A prior mistrial had already occurred due to allegations of inappropriate contact between a juror and a defense attorney. As a result, the proceedings are now moving forward without a jury. While Michael McLeod, another of the accused, will not be testifying, it remains unclear whether Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé, or Alex Formenton will take the stand. All five former players have pleaded not guilty to the charges. McLeod faces an additional charge of being a party to the offense. Also Read: 'Have s*x in front of nine other guys': Michael McLeod calls hotel group s*x encounter 'weird' as Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal deepens The case continues under Justice Maria Carroccia, with a publication ban limiting full disclosure of court proceedings. All five accused remain on leave from the NHL and are not currently under contract.
