Announced two weeks ago and eagerly awaited by the public, a London police press conference provided little, if any, new insight into the alleged sexual assault that allegedly occurred on the sidelines of a Hockey Canada event in 2018 The police force, however, offered its formal apologies to the victim for the manner in which the investigation took place.
A woman claims she was attacked in a London hotel room by members of the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2018 World Junior Championship. Five hockey players – Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod – now facing sexual assault charges.
Shortly after the June 2018 event, London police opened an investigation which they concluded, without charges, in February 2019. It was not until July 2022, after the matter had come to light to the public and “new evidence and new information” had been revealed, the investigation was reopened. A year and a half after the case was reactivated, and five and a half years after the alleged assault, suspects are charged.
“I offer my sincere apologies to the victim and her family for the time it took to reach this point,” London Police Chief Thai Truong said Monday afternoon.
“It shouldn’t have been this long,” he added later during the 45-minute press briefing. It shouldn’t take years to achieve this result. No victim of sexual assault should have to wait this long. » However, he refused to assert that the service he heads made “errors” in 2018 and 2019, and clarified that it was “not abnormal”, in the case of criminal acts, that files are closed and then reopened.
In 2022, a “review” of the case was entrusted to Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann, of the sexual assault and child abuse unit. This “review”, coupled with the disclosure of new information, led to the formal reopening of the investigation, to which new resources were allocated. The people assigned to the initial investigation “are no longer part of this team at this time,” Thai Truong said.
Few answers
Despite multiple questions from media representatives, the two peace officers provided very few concrete answers about the investigation process, since the matter is now before the courts.
Mr. Truong as Mr.me Dann have repeatedly said they are unable to disclose additional details beyond what they provided in their respective opening remarks.
Mr. Truong spoke of a “long and complex” process leading to the sexual assault accusations. Michael McLeod is also accused of “having participated in an offense”, that is to say having helped someone to commit it, explained Mme Dann.
Before the criminal investigation was reopened, in 2022, the victim had filed a civil suit against ex-players of the Canadian Hockey League and Hockey Canada. The federation then quickly concluded an amicable agreement with her in exchange for a sum of money and a confidentiality agreement. This agreement does not, however, restrict the filing of criminal charges. The victim, at the time, said she had been attacked by eight people.
Mme Dann did not rule out additional charges being brought later, without specifying the level of collaboration of other players in this matter. “We filed charges based on the evidence we had,” she said.
It is also this civil suit which made it possible to know the course of events, confirmed Monday by the London police. On June 18, 2018, after a Hockey Canada banquet honoring the gold medal winning team at the World Junior Championship, players went to a bar in downtown London, where they meets the victim. She allegedly accompanied one of the players to a nearby hotel, where they had sexual relations. Teammates of the first player then entered the room and attacked the young woman with him.
The victim “fully cooperated” with the police from the time of the denunciation “until today,” Thai Truong noted.
In 2022, Hockey Canada and the National Hockey League also opened investigations into this same matter. In both cases, no conclusions have yet been revealed to the public. These parallel processes “added complexity to the case,” admitted Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann, without elaborating further. However, she claimed not to have had any communications with the NHL “in recent months”.
Appearance
The five accused appeared before the London Court on Monday morning.
PHOTOS MATT SLOCUM, NOAH K. MURRAY, PAUL SANCYA, COREY SIPKIN, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
The five defendants, from left: Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube and Carter Hart
None of the five defendants showed up at the courthouse – they had already gone to the police in recent days. Their lawyers spoke with the court via video conference. No pleas have been filed yet, but all five men are expected to plead not guilty.
According to local media, the judge imposed a publication ban on the identity of the victim and that of two key witnesses. The Crown said it had “substantial” evidence, whether in writing or on audio tape, gathered by London police. All parties will return to court on April 30.
Read “What’s next in five questions”
Four of the five defendants – Hart (Philadelphia Flyers), Dube (Calgary Flames), Foote and McLeod (New Jersey Devils) – played in the NHL until recently. As for Formenton, his rights belong to the Ottawa Senators, but no contract binds him to the team since July 2022. He has since played with HC Ambri-Piotta, in Switzerland. All the players received a leave of absence from their respective clubs a few days ago until further notice.
Last week, on the sidelines of the presentation of the All-Star game in Toronto, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said he would be “surprised” if the accused played again this season. The four who are currently under contract will become restricted free agents next summer: each organization will then have the choice of offering them a new agreement, retaining their rights without a contract or cutting ties with them by not depositing them. qualifying offer. The commissioner also has the power to suspend them or terminate their contracts immediately because of the accusations against them, but Mr. Bettman has not suggested so far that he would take advantage of this option .
2018 ECJ players still suspended by Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada took advantage of the London police press briefing to declare, in a press release, that the federation had “fully collaborated” with the police investigation and that “the organization will continue to support the legal process.” At the same time, Hockey Canada recalls that the conclusions of the investigation it commissioned into the events of 2018 are currently the subject of an appeal. Until this procedure is completed, we will not know what sanctions will be imposed on the offending players. “Until the conclusion of the appeal process, all players on the 2018 National Junior Team remain suspended from Hockey Canada and are currently ineligible as players, coaches, officials or volunteers within the programs sanctioned by the organization,” we write again. This suspension has already prevented all 2018 Junior Team Canada players from participating in the World Championship last spring.