Police in London, Ontario, have reportedly ordered five former 2018 Canada Junior Team players to surrender in court following an alleged gang rape committed five years earlier, according to information reported by the Globe and Mail Wednesday morning.
The five summoned players, whose identities remain unknown for the moment, will likely face charges of sexual assault, according to two anonymous sources close to the case cited in the article by investigative journalist Robyn Doolittle.
Five former 2018 Canada Junior Team players, four of whom are currently playing in the National Hockey League (NHL), have also obtained “indefinite leave of absence” in recent days.
Flyers general manager Daniel Brière briefly commented on these latest developments during a press conference on Wednesday. “We are aware of reports circulating this morning regarding very serious allegations. We will respond appropriately when the findings of the investigation become public. The NHL has made it very clear that the teams involved should direct all questions related to this matter to it. In the meantime, no member of the Flyers will comment further. »
The National Hockey League, which itself conducted its own investigation in the wake of this affair without, however, revealing the conclusions, refused to comment on the most recent developments. Hockey Canada also did not respond to questions from the DutyWednesday, as these lines were written.
Alleged gang rape in 2018
The London police, for their part, indicated that they were “not able to provide an update at this time”. The Ontario security service, however, clarified that it “will remain in contact with the media when new information regarding this investigation becomes available”.
The case which is worth a judicial summons to five players dates back to June 2018. Following a Hockey Canada fundraising gala where the players of Team Canada Junior received accolades for their conquest of the world championship, hockey players allegedly sexually assaulted a heavily intoxicated young woman in a London hotel room.
The alleged victim filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and eight players in the spring of 2022. She claims to have first consented to sexual relations with a player, without knowing that seven of her teammates were going to burst into the room to attack him and silence him. These allegations, refuted by the lawyers of certain players involved, have never been tested in court.
The story nevertheless engulfed Hockey Canada in a vast storm after the TSN network revealed that the organization had tried to keep the matter quiet by compensating the complainant. The outrage from coast to coast convinced the London police to re-open the investigation.
“If there is a mistake, let them pay dearly”
A “sports safety crisis” is plaguing the country, according to Federal Sports Minister Carla Qualtrough, who on Wednesday saluted the “courageous survivors who have come forward to share their lived experiences” and who make possible “awareness of which we are witnessing in hockey and throughout the sports system.
Questioned at the entrance to his party’s pre-sessional caucus, liberal MP Enrico Ciccone, himself a former professional hockey player, wanted to exercise caution since the case “risks being taken to court. »
“For me,” he nevertheless indicated, “the important thing in all of this is that we are able to move on, that we reach the end and if a serious fault has been committed, then those who did it, let them pay dearly. »
“There has been a loss of confidence in the sports community and it’s not just Hockey Canada,” continued the Marquette elected official. We realized that there were other situations like that as well, where we were trying to protect the logo, the image of our organization before the well-being of a human being. For me, that is unacceptable. »
Raising National Hockey League players to the rank of “model of our society”, MP Ciccone believes that athletes must answer for their actions. “We will wait for the charges to be filed […] They are no different from any citizen: when you commit a mistake, you must face justice. »
In Ottawa, the Bloc Québécois sports spokesperson, Sébastien Lemire, expects that the “disturbing elements” revealed by this affair will finally be clarified. “What happened in 2018 to ensure that there were no charges at that time — even if the police knew, even if Hockey Canada knew, even if the Ministry of Sports knew about it? It took political intervention to make things happen. »
It lists 16 sports federations tainted by “equally disturbing stories” and this only in the last year. “Sport is still in crisis, sport is still sick,” insists the Bloc MP. If the charges are not filed, if there are no criminal consequences, I think it will disappoint a lot of people in the justice system. […] There is an issue of trust there. »
With Boris Proulx, Marie-Michèle Sioui and The Canadian Press