Last May, when gang rape allegations involving eight hockey players came to light, Hockey Canada widely publicized information that the victim had never contacted authorities. However, in a first public outing since the case was brought to light, the young woman maintains that she has indeed filed a complaint with the London police.
Posted at 12:07 p.m.
In an interview with the Toronto daily The Globe and Mail, the victim, identified only by his initials EM, recounts having spoken with the police three times in the days following the alleged attack, and again a few weeks later. Over the next year, she learned that no charges would be filed in this case.
In June 2018, after Hockey Canada’s annual foundation gala, eight hockey players, mostly from the national junior team, allegedly assaulted a heavily intoxicated young woman in a hotel room in London, Ont. The case never ended up in court, but the victim filed a civil lawsuit on April 20 against the players in question, against Hockey Canada and against the Canadian Hockey League. An out-of-court settlement was reached a month later on May 24. On May 26, TSN reported the story and, the same day, Hockey Canada issued a statement in which the organization wrote that “the person making the allegations has chosen not to approach the police or the investigator independent of Hockey Canada”.
the Globe and Mail notes in his report that the statement was corrected after the victim’s attorney raised this misinformation. However, as of August 2, 2022, the statement can still be found as is on the Hockey Canada website, in both French and English.
SCREEN CAPTURE FROM HOCKEY CANADA WEBSITE
Incorrect information is always found on the Hockey Canada site, both in French and in English.
Hockey Canada hired an independent firm to investigate the matter in 2018, but after receiving only a handful of testimonies, that firm closed the case in 2020. London police, meanwhile, concluded in 2019 that she would not be filing charges against the alleged abusers. Both investigations have been reopened following revelations in recent weeks. The NHL has also opened an investigation, while the majority of players involved in the events of 2018 are playing on the circuit today.
EM’s lawyer, however, indicated that his client would not testify again for the benefit of the investigations of the NHL or Hockey Canada.
“She provided an eight-page statement, with five pages of photos and four and a half pages of text messages,” Ms.e Rob Talach at World. She filed a civil suit and spoke to the police multiple times. How many more times will she have to submit to this? »
“National Scandal”
In interview with the Worldthe victim explains that he has felt “vulnerable and exposed” since the allegations were made public just over two months ago.
“I didn’t want to attract attention, I just wanted there to be consequences for actions. [posées] and any accountability,” she told reporter Robyn Doolittle.
As the article points out, the case has since become a “national scandal”, which the young woman did not want. The leaders of Hockey Canada, under fire from critics, testified twice before the Canadian Heritage committee in Ottawa.
A survey of World revealed a few days ago that Hockey Canada had for years used a multi-million dollar special fund, partly funded by registrations paid by parents of players across the country, to compensate victims of sexual violence in outside the courts. Through this process and through other sources of funding, the organization has paid 12.5 million dollars to 22 victims since 1989, we learned last week during a hearing of the Heritage Committee.
Over the weeks, players present at the 2018 gala gradually began to dissociate themselves from the case through their personal social media accounts, if not through the voice of their agent. Their defense varied, however, in the terms used. Some claimed to have “done nothing wrong”, while others explicitly stated that they knew nothing of the story. Others, to this day, continue to maintain silence.
In recent weeks, lawyers representing seven players have handed over tapes taken from the night of the alleged assault to some media outlets. In two short videos, the victim declares having consented to the acts committed a few minutes earlier. The publication of these details “frightened” the victim, whose lawyer maintains with the World that these videos in no way represent the “general context” of the evening. The latter denounces an “attack on the credibility of his client”.
Last Thursday, on her own initiative, EM submitted to a polygraph test to bolster her story. According to the report, provided to the World by a private firm that conducted the test, the young woman’s statement is true. Note, however, that in Canada, a polygraph test cannot be given as evidence in a criminal trial.