Five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team have their first court date set for Monday in London, Ont., after they were formally charged with sexual assault.
The charges, filed in the Ontario Court of Justice this week, stem from allegations that the five men attacked a woman in a hotel room after a June, 2018, Hockey Canada fundraiser in London. All of them surrendered to police over the past week.
Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod, who now play for the National Hockey League, and Alex Formenton, a former NHLer who now plays for a Swiss team, each face a charge of sexual assault against the woman, according to a charging document dated Jan. 31. Lawyers for each of the players had confirmed the laying of the charges earlier in the week.
Mr. McLeod also faces a second charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence,” the document says, though the nature of that charge is not explained.
The courthouse in London confirmed in an e-mail that the players’ first court appearance is scheduled for Monday. It was not immediately clear whether the players will attend in person, or have their lawyers attend on their behalf.
All of them have released statements through their lawyers denying wrongdoing and promising vigorous defences, and all of them have taken leaves of absence from their current teams. The players’ lawyers did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.
Mr. Hart plays for the Philadelphia Flyers; Mr. Foote and Mr. Mcleod play for the New Jersey Devils; Mr. Dubé plays for the Calgary Flames; and Mr. Formenton, a former member of the Ottawa Senators, now plays for HC Ambrì-Piotta, a team in Switzerland’s National League.
The Globe and Mail first reported last week that the London Police Service had ordered five members of the 2018 junior team to turn themselves in to face charges, more than five years after the alleged incident.
London police have declined to answer questions about the case since The Globe’s initial report, and have called a news conference for Monday afternoon.
The allegations came to light in 2022, after TSN reported that Hockey Canada had settled a civil lawsuit brought by the woman, identified in court documents only as E.M. She alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by several players in a hotel room after the 2018 fundraiser, an event held to celebrate the gold medal the team had won during that year’s world juniors tournament. E.M. said she had agreed to leave a bar and go to the hotel room with one player, but that several of his teammates later entered the room and intimidated her into staying.
E.M. reported the alleged assault to police immediately, but an initial criminal investigation was closed in February, 2019, and no charges were laid. The investigation was reopened in 2022.
In the nearly two years since the case became public knowledge it has rocked Hockey Canada, the sport’s national governing body, prompting a complete overhaul of the organization’s leadership, as well as parliamentary hearings and investigations by both Hockey Canada and the NHL.
A court document obtained by The Globe reveals that the players surrendered to London police between Jan. 26 and Tuesday.
Criminal lawyer Monte McGregor, who is not involved in the case, said that under Canada’s Criminal Code any accused person has the option of signing a designation to allow a lawyer to appear on their behalf during their first handful of court dates, which are typically administrative in nature and deal with things such as document disclosure.
Colin Freeze