New court documents from the police investigation into the alleged gang rape committed by members of the 2018 Junior Team Canada in a hotel room in London, Ont., reveal why investigators are considering bringing charges against five skaters.
• Read also: Junior Team Canada: a “C” on Shane Wright’s jersey
• Read also: Hockey Canada officially unveils its new Board
On Sunday, the daily “Globe and Mail” revealed the contents of these documents, which include transcripts of interrogations and requests for search warrants.
The information found in these reveals in particular the course of the evening of the alleged victim, identified as “EM”.
It is learned that a man, referred to as “Player 1” in the documentation, allegedly took EM to her hotel room after meeting her at a bar after an event organized by Hockey Canada in June 2018.
After a consensual sexual relationship, the individual in question would have sent text messages to other players to join him in the bedroom. He reportedly identified the woman as a “teaser”.
EM recounted coming out of the bathroom and facing seven or eight men. The sexual acts that allegedly then took place were redacted from the documents, but the alleged victim claimed to have verbally objected by saying “no” on numerous occasions.
“EM believes the word ‘object’ accurately described how she felt that night,” London Police Sergeant David Youman wrote in the court application.
Videos
In addition, it was possible to learn that “player 1” would have made two videos of EM after the alleged facts. In the hotel room, he would have filmed her asking her if she was fine. The woman told police she believed she was filmed late in the evening and had no recollection of it.
“The two videos made by player 1 would have been created according to EM to prevent her from going to the police, said Sergeant Younan. Player 1 even asked her if she wanted to go to the police…and asked her to sort it out with the police.”
It was also EM’s mother who called the authorities the day after the alleged gang rape. She reportedly found her child in the shower ‘sitting, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth’. Her husband meanwhile reportedly contacted Hockey Canada and spoke with someone from the organization whose identity has been removed from the documents. The man reportedly provided a photo of player 1 to the individual working for the federation.
At this time, no charges have yet been filed and the allegations have not been argued in court. London police closed the case in 2018 to reopen it in 2022 after the story caused a scandal. Recall that Hockey Canada used a fund to settle the lawsuit filed by EM who alleged that he had been sexually assaulted by eight players from the 2018 Canada Junior Team.