On Thursday, a judge acquitted five players of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team of sexual assault.
Justice Maria Carroccia of the Superior Court rendered the decision, stating that the accuser’s evidence was not “credible nor reliable,” as reported by The Athletic.
In 2018, a woman, identified publicly as E.M., accused Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote of sexually assaulting her in a London, Ontario, hotel room.
After the jury was dismissed and a mistrial occurred, the judge rendered the decision.
According to The Athletic, Carroccia stated, “After determining that I cannot rely on E.M.’s evidence and taking into account the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me.”
Prior to this, all five athletes entered not guilty pleas to charges of sexual assault.
A woman filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada in 2022, according to the Associated Press, alleging that eight players of Canada’s world junior team had sexually abused her in 2018. The woman and Hockey Canada then came to an agreement.
According to the AP, London Police dismissed the case in 2019 without filing any charges after opening an inquiry into the event in 2018.
Five squad members were charged after police restarted the probe after the 2022 settlement. In 2022, the NHL launched its own inquiry as well.
According to the AP, the woman testified that on June 19, 2018, four hockey players unexpectedly entered her room when she was naked, intoxicated, and afraid. She went on to say that she believed doing as they requested was the only safe course of action.
Defense lawyers contended that the woman sought a wild night and voluntarily engaged in and started sexual activity.
At the moment, none of the five players are listed on an NHL team.
The Philadelphia Flyers’ best goalie in the past was Carter Hart. Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Michael McLeod have all played in the NHL before.
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