Canada Hockey’s 2018 world junior hockey team had five members charged with sexual assault. On Wednesday, lawyers representing these members confirmed that their clients have chosen to have a trial by jury, as listed in a statement by the lawyers. Daniel Brown, one of these lawyers, confirmed this by email to The Associated Press. The next hearing for this case is set in April.
The Five Junior Hockey League Members
The charges were announced earlier in February and are said to have taken place in 2018 in London, Ontario. Five members of the junior hockey league were issued accounts of sexual assault charges. Michael McLeod had two counts against him, while Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, and Carter Hart all have one, according to the London Police. These charges come from an alleged event that happened in June 2018 at a Delta London Armouries Hotel following a Hockey Canada gala. McLeod’s second additional charge follows the same event as the first.
“The one charge he was laid with is in relation to his own actions,” London police detective sergeant Katherine Dann said, “and the party to the offense charge is in relation to aiding someone else and committing the offense.” Dann also apologized for the length of time that it has taken for this case to be put underway on Feb. 5.
The Original Allegations
A woman who has remained nameless filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada in April 2022. The woman claimed that she was assaulted by a total of eight players in a hotel room at the Delta London Armouries Hotel following the gala at which the team was celebrating a gold medal win. Of those eight, the five named above were included in the allegations. The original lawsuit was settled in May 2022.
Despite the settlement, the London police and Hockey Canada thought it best to reopen the investigation, joined by the NHL. It was originally closed by the London police in February 2019. No charges had been filed at the time.
The NHL is waiting to take further steps until the judicial proceedings that are already in place play out. The five, aside from Alex Formenton, are on a leave of absence from each of their teams. All are set to be free agents at the end of the season.
What’s Happening Next
“Earlier this week,” read the statement by the lawyers, written altogether, “all five players selected a trial by jury, and they are confident that jurors drawn from the community will decide this case fairly and impartially after hearing all the evidence and testimony.”
The five players will all be tried by jury and will be tried simultaneously. That way, the court can maximize their resources and cover all actions at once while also minimizing the victim’s exposure to the case. That being said, being tried as an individual versus as a group does not make all five guilty or innocent altogether. The verdict doesn’t stand for them as a whole. For example, there is a chance two may be found innocent while three may be found guilty. Their individual attorneys say all players plan to plead not guilty and defend themselves against the allegations. There is a trial scheduling set for March 5. They will have a hearing on April 30.
Total Apex Sports will update this story as more information is provided.
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