Five former members of the 2018 Canadian world junior hockey team were found not guilty of sexual assault on Thursday, July 24, after a trial in London, Ontario, with a judge saying she didn’t find the complainant’s evidence ‘credible or reliable.’
“I cannot rely upon the evidence of (the accuser) and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me,’ Justice Maria Carroccia said, per the Athletic.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton, who all played in the NHL, were charged with sexual assault. McLeod faced a second charge of being a party to the offense, and he was also acquitted of that charge. All had pleaded not guilty. Hart was the only defendant who testified.
Carroccia rendered the ruling on Thursday, spelling out her reasoning. Juries had been dismissed on two occasions, once after an early mistrial was declared in the eight-week trial, and it was decided that the judge would rule on the case.
The players were in London in June 2018 for a Hockey Canada gala honoring the gold medal-winning world junior championship team. The tournament is for under-20 players. Police say the alleged assaults took place in a hotel room after the defendants had met the woman, then 20, at a downtown bar.
“I shut down and let my body do what it needed to do to keep me safe,’ she told the court, per the network. ‘It felt like the safe thing to do was give them what they were wanting.’
But the judge said, ‘In this case, I have found actual consent not vitiated by fear,’ The Athletic reported.
Carroccia addressed consent videos that McLeod recorded with the woman. The judge said the woman ‘did not display any signs of intoxication’ in the videos and had ‘no difficulty speaking,’ per CBC. Carroccia said she believed the woman exaggerated her level of intoxication.
CBC also said the judge noted the woman talked in court about telling ‘her truth,’ not ‘the truth.’
Prosecutors have 30 days to file an appeal based on legal flaws in the judge’s ruling.
‘We will carefully review Justice Carroccia’s decision and as this case is still within the appeal period, we have no further comment to make about the decision at this time,’ prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham told reporters.
History of the investigation
The London police department’s initial investigation closed in February 2019 without any charges. It was reopened in July 2022, two months after TSN reported that May that Hockey Canada paid an undisclosed settlement to a woman who alleged in a $3.55 million lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted by eight players in a hotel room.
The players were charged in February 2024.
Detective Sgt. Katherine Dann of the police department’s Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Section said at the time that additional witnesses were spoken to and additional evidence was collected, starting in 2022.
‘I can confirm that some of this evidence was not available when the investigation concluded in 2019,’ she said in a news conference. ‘This is one investigation, not two. The evidence that was collected in 2018 and 2019 was used in combination with newly gathered evidence to form reasonable and probable grounds to charge these five individuals with sexual assault.’
Police chief Thai Truong put out a statement on Thursday commending ‘the outstanding courage and strength shown by (the woman) in coming forward and enduring this prolonged and difficult judicial process. We remain committed to ensuring that survivors of sexual violence feel supported and safe when interacting with the London Police Service, recognizing the distinct impact trauma can have.’
All but Formenton were with NHL teams at the time they were charged and took leaves of absences. Their teams cut them loose in June 2024 by not giving them qualifying offers, making them free agents.
McLeod, now 27, played for the New Jersey Devils, Hart, 26, for the Philadelphia Flyers, Dubé, 27, for the Calgary Flames and Foote, 26, played for three NHL teams, mostly recently the Devils. Formenton, 25, played for the Ottawa Senators until 2021-22.
What lawyers for Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, the woman said
David Humphrey, McLeod’s lawyer: “Justice Carroccia’s carefully reasoned decision represents a resounding vindication for Mr. McLeod and for his co-defendants. … The damage to Mr. McLeod’s reputation and his career has been significant. But today’s decision begins to restore what was very unfairly taken away from him.”
Megan Savard, Hart’s lawyer: “The Crown attorney did not have take this case to trial. Mr. Hart, in particular, had been willing to engage in a restorative justice process. He was willing to be publicly named and prepared to use his public platform to teach other athletes how to ensure that their sexual encounters are responsible and thoughtful.
“Instead of pursuing restorative justice, the Crown forced a distressful and unnecessary trial to the detriment of Mr. Hart, his co-defendants, the complainant and the Canadian public. Mr. Hart regrets that it took a public trial for the truth to come out, but he has learned from the experience and he’s committing to sharing what he learned with others in his personal circle and in his professional life.”
Karen Bellehumeur, the woman’s lawyer: “I am hopeful that the verdict today is not the end, and I know that (the woman) wants some good to come from this case. To those other brave souls who are willing to do whatever it takes to pursue justice, we hope you do not give up. In a country where only 6% of sexual assaults are reported to the police, courageous people like you are important. Without you, there is no criminal accountability at all. But the justice system must do better for you.”