The five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team accused of sexual assault briefly appeared in court Monday in London, Ontario. None of the players were present in court, neither on site nor by videoconference. Represented by their lawyers, they were summoned again on April 30, after a hearing which lasted less than 15 minutes.
In front of more than twenty journalists and a few curious people who came to attend the first court session of this highly publicized case, the assistant Crown attorney, Heather Donkers, declared that she had “substantial” evidence, both in writing and in court. audio and video, which will be sent during the day to the defense lawyers. Additional evidence will also be submitted in the coming weeks.
Police in London, where the assault was allegedly committed, according to the complainant, are due to reveal more details at 2 p.m. However, a publication ban on the identity of the alleged victim and that of two witnesses was imposed by the judge.
According to court documents, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod were each charged with one count of sexual assault. McLeod, a New Jersey Devils player, also faces another charge of participating in the offense of sexual assault.
Lawyers for the five athletes appeared by videoconference Monday morning. They had already declared, before the hearing, that their clients would plead “not guilty” to the charges.
The latter concern an alleged sexual assault that occurred in a hotel in London, the Delta Hotels by Marriott London Armouries, on the night of June 18 to 19, 2018. The complainant’s version of the facts was detailed in a civil lawsuit filed in April 2022 for $3.55 million against eight players, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League.
The lawsuit, made public in 2022 by TSN, was settled out of court, according to the sports network, thanks to a fund from Hockey Canada aimed at hushing up the affair.
London police were notified of the young woman’s allegations, but closed the file in 2019 without laying charges. Faced with public outrage, the police investigation was reopened in July 2022.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.