Judge delivering ruling in hockey players' sex assault trial

CTV News

3 days ago

Warning: This article contains graphic content.
LONDON — An Ontario judge is delivering her ruling in the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team, saying she did not find the complainant's testimony to be credible.
Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said Thursday that the Crown cannot meet its onus of proof for the charges in the case. She is still reading the reasons for her decision and hasn't officially ruled on the charges against each player.
Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in an encounter that took place in a London, Ont. hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018.
McLeod, who prosecutors allege was the 'ringleader' that night, has also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
The players, who are now between the ages of 25 and 27, were in London at the time for a gala and golf tournament marking their championship victory.
Protesters gathered outside a packed London courthouse on Thursday morning, holding signs that signalled support for the complainant.
Jane Piper said she has experienced sexual violence herself, and it was an 'emotional, powerful and difficult' day.
'I'm hoping that we'll have justice today and that she feels, no matter what happens today, that she's supported,' Piper said of the complainant.
Court has heard the complainant had sex with McLeod, whom she had met at a downtown bar earlier that night, in his hotel room – an encounter that was not part of the trial.
The charges relate to what happened after several other players came into the room, with consent a central issue in the case.
Prosecutors allege McLeod orchestrated a 'campaign' to bring his friends into the room to engage in sexual acts with the woman without her knowledge or consent.
The woman did not voluntarily consent to the sexual acts that took place in the room, the Crown argued, and the players did not take reasonable steps to confirm that she did despite circumstances that would call for additional caution.
The defence argues the woman actively participated in the sexual activity and was egging the men on at times, but later made up a false narrative to absolve herself of responsibility.
They argue she came to court with an agenda and exaggerated her level of drunkenness that night to support her account and explain inconsistencies in it.
McLeod, Hart and Dube are accused of getting oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube is also accused of slapping her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else.
Formenton is alleged to have had vaginal sex with the complainant in the bathroom without her consent, and Foote is accused of doing the splits over her face and 'grazing' his genitals on it without her consent.
Lawyers for McLeod, Hart, Formenton and Dube argue the woman consented to sexual acts with their clients, while Foote's lawyer argued he was fully clothed while doing partial splits over her body and didn't touch her at all.
Court heard McLeod sent a text to a team group chat shortly after 2 a.m. asking if anyone wanted a 'three-way' and listing his room number. Hart replied he was 'in,' according to screenshots shown at trial.
He also texted another teammate, Taylor Raddysh, telling him to come to the room if he wanted a 'gummer,' which Raddysh testified meant oral sex. McLeod made a similar comment to Boris Katchouk, another player who briefly stopped by his room, court heard.
McLeod did not mention any of these interactions to police in a 2018 interview, instead saying he had told 'a few guys' that he was ordering food and had a girl in his room, and didn't know 'how guys kept showing up.'
The woman was naked and drunk when men she didn't know started coming into the room, she told the court during more than a week of testimony.
The men seemed to be laughing at her as they discussed sexual acts they wanted her to perform, she said, and she felt her mind 'shut down' as her body moved on 'autopilot.'
Two teammates who were called as Crown witnesses, Brett Howden and Tyler Steenbergen, testified the woman asked the group if anyone would have sex with her, as did Hart, the only accused player to take the stand in his own defence.
When that was put to her in cross-examination, the woman said she didn't remember saying such things, but that if she did, it was because she was drunk and had taken on the persona of a 'porn star' as a coping mechanism.
The trial began in late April and was initially heard by a jury, but Carroccia twice discharged the panel and eventually the trial was switched to a judge alone to avoid having to start over a second time.
Nine witnesses testified, most of them remotely – including the complainant, who testified via CCTV from another room in the courthouse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
If you or someone you know is struggling with sexual assault or trauma, the following resources are available to support people in crisis:
If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety, you should call 911.
A full list of sexual assault centres in Canada that offer information, advocacy and counselling can be found ​on the website for Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada.
Helplines, legal services and locations that offer sexual assault kits in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia can be found here.
National Residential School Crisis Line:[phone]-hour crisis line:416 597 8808
Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline:[phone]
Trans Lifeline:[phone]
Sexual misconduct support for current or former members of the Armed Forces:[phone]
Read about your rights as a victim here.