Latest news with #JaneSims
National Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Letters: Law and disorder in Hockey Canada verdicts, Freedom Convoy sentencing
Re: Gasps in court as all five players acquitted in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial — Jane Sims, July 24 Article content While Superior Justice Maria Carroccia ruled that the behaviour of the five Hockey Canada players didn't constitute sexual assault, it's very clear that what happened in that hotel room in London, Ont., in 2018 was unsavoury and unbefitting of role models. Hockey Canada needs to do a lot more to promote appropriate behaviour off the ice. In the meantime, may this legal saga be a cautionary tale to all young male hockey players — and their admirers. No one, not the players, the complainant or Hockey Canada, comes out looking good. Article content Article content Article content It's unbelievable that the government of Canada would attempt to make an example of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber by calling for seven- and eight-year sentences respectively for helping organize a peaceful convoy protest. Article content Canadian justice would be better served by the government fixing the revolving door of criminal offenders getting bail instantly, frequently, and being sentenced lightly. Article content The heavy-handed prosecution of Lich and Barber is obviously meant to chill any future protest of government policy that citizens disagree with. This stands in direct contrast with a government that proudly proclaims the right to peaceful protest, such as when anti-Israel groups disrupt traffic, intimidate Christmas shoppers in a mall, or menacingly appear in a Jewish neighbourhood. Article content Article content Article content Tamara Lich and Chris Barber and other honest, hard-working Canadians gave up their time and their work and drove thousands of miles, at their own expense, to reach out to their government, in a peaceful manner, to try to fix a problem that was preventing them from bringing needed products to Canadians. Article content They camped outside the Parliament buildings for one purpose only: to be heard, to exercise their Canadian right to reach out to their government for help, and they brought their children to witness democracy in action. Article content Except, they weren't heard. The prime minister dismissed them cavalierly and refused to listen to their concerns, or send anyone else to listen and address them. Had he done so, the protest would have been over, and everyone could have gone home, happy to have had their concerns addressed. It only droned on for three weeks because the government continued in its refusal to give them a hearing. Article content If anybody is to be sentenced for mischief, it should be our former PM, Justin Trudeau.
Toronto Sun
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Hockey Canada trial: Woman in 'no-win' situation, Crown says
The Crown prosecuting five former junior hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman took aim at defence criticisms of her Jane Sims Published Jun 12, 2025 • 6 minute read Clockwise from top left: Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton enter the London courthouse on on April 22, 2025. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) The 'myth of the ideal victim,' the Crown says, is at the heart of the Team Canada 2018 world junior hockey sexual assault trial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account And so is 'why some people feel that victims aren't treated fairly in the criminal justice system,' said Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham during her closing argument Thursday at the high-profile Superior Court trial. Cunningham, who is in the second day of her closing argument, took aim at the criticisms, from the defence teams of five teammates from the gold medal team, that the 27-year-old woman, during her nine days of evidence, showed she came to court with an agenda and ultimately can't be believed. 'She can't win,' Cunningham said. 'She's either too emotional, she's combative. If she's not emotional enough, she's rehearsed. If she refuses to agree with suggestions, she's combative and difficult. But if she does agree, she doesn't know her own mind. If she uses the same language at multiple points it's contrived but if she uses different language, she's inconsistent.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Cunningham said this strategy by the defence 'finds its roots … in this myth of the ideal victim, that there is a right way for someone to look or sound when they're describing sexual assault, that's there's a correct way or a good way for a real victim to testify.' Cunningham argued the complainant, whose identity is protected by court order, has been consistent in her answers and that when Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia assesses all the evidence, she should find the woman has been forthright and truthful. The five players – Michael McLeod, 27, Carter Hart, 26, Dillon Dube, 26, Cal Foote, 26, and Alex Formenton, 25 – all members of the 2018 championship team who went on to professional careers – have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod also has pleaded not guilty to a second sexual assault count for being a party to an offence. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. They were charged in early 2023 following a revived London police investigation into what went on in Room 209 of the Delta Armouries hotel in London where the team was staying for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament. The woman, whose identity is protected by court order, was 20 when she met McLeod at Jack's bar while the team was celebrating and returned to the hotel with him for consensual sex. She testified she was drunk and was shocked, after the sexual encounter with McLeod, when several teammates assembled in McLeod's room where she says she was sexually abused and assaulted without her consent. She said she was affected by alcohol and had a trauma response that caused her to separate her mind from her body to cope with the sexual demands of the players. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The defence contends the woman was the sexual aggressor, who begged and taunted the players for sexual activity. Some of them took advantage of her offers. Cunningham argued the woman was credible in her nine days of evidence that she was shocked to find men in the room when she came out of the bathroom naked after having sex with McLeod and she didn't know he had invited them to the room. Cunningham said the woman was drunk, naked and 'feeling really vulnerable' and was frightened and confused because she didn't know what direction the situation was heading. 'Feeling scared and confused, (the woman) … plays the role that she thinks is expected of her which, at this point in time, is being a good sport in the lighthearted approach in their presence,' Cunningham said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'But the events snowball from there. More and more men keep arriving. She finds herself in over her head because the men are being aggressive. They're telling her what they wanted her to do.' Cunningham said the men were 'goading each other into doing things, and they're saying what they want her to do and they're making her feel like an object. She is intimidated by the presence of these men, so she goes along with what she thinks is expected.' That's when the woman described 'just a weird feeling of my mind kind of separating from my body … I didn't feel I had any control. I didn't feel I had a choice,' Cunningham said. The Crown had planned to call an expert witness to explain the range of normal reactions to traumatic events such as sexual assault, including disassociation, Cunningham said, but recent appeal court rulings in one of the sexual assault cases of Hedley lead singer Jacob Hoggard dismissed the need for that expertise. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Instead of retreating back into the bathroom, the woman went to the bed, Cunningham said. The woman testified she didn't feel she had control at that point and wasn't thinking clearly. 'She's explaining very eloquently that she was experiencing a trauma response. There's nothing implausible about this evidence,' the Crown said. Cunningham said Carroccia should not conclude the woman returning naked to the bed 'is an indicator that she wanted to engage in sexual activity with the men.' Throughout a blitz of cross-examination by the defence, Cunningham said the woman 'remained calm, careful and fair. She certainly did not leave the impression she was just making things up. 'It is clear, listening to her testify, that she was trying to be accurate and precise when she could be within the limitation of her memory,' Cunningham said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But Carroccia noted there were times when she would have to direct the woman to answer questions directly instead of going on other tangents. At the time the jury was still hearing the case – it later was dismissed – and the judge said she would have interrupted the woman more if it was a judge-alone trial at that point. 'There's nothing wrong with a complainant wanting to stand up for themselves. The question is whether that impacts or colours the way that they give their evidence,' the judge said. Cunningham said most times, the woman would answer questions then give an explanation for her answer. 'If (the woman) had any agenda while testifying, it was to ensure that she was not misunderstood. It was to ensure that she had the opportunity to fully explain her experience.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And, the Crown argued, it is natural her understanding about what happened evolved as she processed it. In June 2018, during her first interviews with London police, 'she as still very much grappling with what had happened to her, what she wanted to do about it, how she felt about it,' the Crown said. But the woman had no motive to lie about what happened in the hotel room, Cunningham said. Even though now-retired Det. Stephen Newton was concerned she was under pressure from her mother, there isn't any evidence she was, the Crown said. 'The fact that she changed her mind five times about proceeding is not evidence of pressure. It isn't evidence especially that she felt swept along with something outside of her control,' Cunningham said, but shows that she 'was in the driver's seat,' and still was when the investigation was reopened in 2022. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Her first police statement in 2018 'was measured' and never said she was forcibly restrained or threatened. The defence has asserted the woman 're-scripted her narrative' after London police closed its case. But Cunningham argued there was no fundamental change to her narrative. 'She did not specifically say she was afraid during the first interview with the detective… she also explained that she was still processing everything that had happened.' Also, the Crown said, the existence of the $3.55-million civil suit that was quickly settled by Hockey Canada in May 2022 is not relevant to the criminal case. The woman could have chosen not to participate in the criminal investigation. 'There is no connection between the money and her participation in this trial,' Cunningham said. The trial continues. jsims@ Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA Canada World
Toronto Sun
28-05-2025
- Toronto Sun
HOCKEY CANADA TRIAL: Michael McLeod recalls for police 'weird' night of sex
Former NHLer told police officer entire situation that played out in his hotel room was 'weird' Jane Sims Published May 27, 2025 • Last updated 11 minutes ago • 8 minute read Michael McLeod, left, and, top to bottom, Cal Foote, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Alex Formenton enter the London courthouse on April 22, 2025. (Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) Michael McLeod told the police officer the entire situation that played out in his hotel room was 'weird.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account His teammates from the gold-winning 2018 Canadian world junior hockey team had assembled in his room at the Delta Armouries hotel in London to hang out and eat chicken wings and mozzarella sticks ordered off Uber Eats. And among them was a 20-year-old woman he'd brought back to the hotel from a downtown London bar – and with whom he'd had consensual sex – who was begging his buddies to have sex with her and getting upset when they wouldn't. The whole scene was so absurd, so 'weird,' he thought he would take a video of the woman to make sure she was fine with what was happening. 'She said 'yes,'' McLeod told now-retired London police Det. Stephen Newton during a voluntary interview in November 2018. 'I was trying to make sure she was okay because this is, like, a weird situation that I wasn't expecting was going to happen with all the guys coming in. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I was worried something like this could happen. I just made sure she was okay with this.' The interview was played in court on Tuesday at the trial of five Canadian world junior hockey players who were in London on June 18 and 19, 2018, for a Hockey Canada gala and golf tournament to celebrate their gold medals. McLeod, 27; Carter Hart, 26; Alex Formenton, 25; Dillon Dube, 26; and Cal Foote, 26, all have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to a second charge of being a party to sexual assault. The complainant, now 27, and whose identity is protected by court order, met McLeod at Jack's Bar on Richmond Row when a group of teammates showed up on Dollar Beer Night to dance and drink. She has testified earlier at the trial that once she went back to the hotel with McLeod, she was sexually assaulted by several men in his room. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. She testified she suffered memory issues about what happened because she was drunk and had separated her mind from what her body was doing to cope with the stressful situation. But the defence lawyers have pointed to her as the aggressor who wanted to have sex with the players and was annoyed if they didn't. The interview was introduced through the evidence of Newton, a 32-year veteran with the London police who left in 2022. He was the lead investigator in 2018 into the complaint filed just days after the big party and made the decision in February 2019 that he had insufficient grounds to lay charges. Newton first interviewed the woman on June 22, 2018, when the woman said she didn't want charges laid, but for her complaint to be documented and the men spoken to. Newton showed her photos of the team from the Hockey Canada website for identification purposes four days later. The woman would tell Newton to carry on with the criminal investigation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But contacting all the players was going to be tricky. He called it 'an unusual environment for this type of investigation.' He didn't reach out to them himself because he had no contact information and he thought it was best to reach out through their lawyers. 'I knew the nature of this team that these players were all over North America and it was going to be challenging,' he said under questions from Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham. Newton said he called Bob Martin, the security advisor for Team Canada, and asked Martin to pass his contact information to the players and their lawyers. Once Hockey Canada named Danielle Robitaille as its lawyer, she became his main contact. The lawyers for two players, McLeod and Formenton, contacted him on July 13. A week later, McLeod's lawyer, David Humphrey, forwarded to Newton the two videos of the woman appearing to consent to sexual activity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Newton said he eventually did in-person interviews with McLeod and Formenton and audio interviews with Dube and Foote. Hart wasn't interviewed, and Brett Howden, who just finished a week as a witness at the trial on Tuesday morning, did not provide an interview. The McLeod interview, which lasted more than an hour, took place on Nov. 17, 2018, with Humphrey present and with a preamble by Newton informing the player that he was investigating the woman's complaint of a sexual assault. 'I don't feel I have identified the necessary grounds for charges of sexual assault,' he told McLeod, making it clear he had no plans at that time to arrest and charge him, noting 'you are here on your own free will' and could leave anytime. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Newton also cautioned him the investigation was ongoing and should things change, what McLeod said could be used at trial. McLeod told Newton he and his teammates arrived at Jack's Bar around midnight. He described meeting the woman on the dance floor and that 'she wasn't, like, hammered by any means.' He bought her a drink and she bought him one, he said. 'I had a few more and didn't see what she was exactly drinking, but I know I was drinking with the guys.' Around 1:30 a.m., 'we decided to go back to the hotel mutually,' McLeod said. 'We had sex. And then, I decided to order some food off Uber Eats.' McLeod said he let the others know he had food, but also that he had 'a girl in the room.' Newton asked: 'Do you get the sense the guys are coming because they know there's a naked girl in the room who's doing sexual favours for people?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod thought 'probably,' but added: 'I just told the guys I was getting food and there's a girl over there, that's all I said to a few guys. 'Like I said, a lot of these guys aren't looking for anything . . . most of them had girlfriends at the time, and didn't participate . . . they just kind of thought it was funny.' It was 20 minutes before the food showed up and before it arrived, 'two guys came around,' McLeod said. 'I know Carter Hart was one of them . . . and I'm not too sure who the other two were at the time. 'And then, we're all hanging out, four or five of us, including (the woman). And then I went downstairs to get the food – the mozzarella sticks and the chicken wings – and then I walked in and she was giving Carter Hart oral sex. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'She seemed completely fine with it and the other guys were just hanging out with other guys. It was a little different.' The food didn't last long and then Formenton, his roommate, showed up. 'I guess she wanted to have sex with him, but that was when there was only four or five of us in the room and he didn't want to do it in front of us,' McLeod said. 'So they went into the bathroom and they were in there for 10 or 15 minutes maybe and they, like, had sex, from what I know.' Three or four more guys showed up and then more. By then it was 'eight or nine guys and we were all hanging out. We were drunk, but we weren't black-out drunk and we all had our heads on straight for the most part and having fun, laughing,' McLeod said. 'Fifteen minutes later, she wanted to have sex with someone else again and, as I said, she was on the bed and said: 'Do you want to have sex with me' and 'no one will have sex with me' and 'you guys are p—–s.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod said they were 'all kind of stunned by her. Like none of us wanted to have sex with her, you know, in front of everyone.' Some were laughing, 'but not like making fun of her or anything, because it's kind of weird, so they're just like ha-ha, like what's going on, kind of thing. 'She got upset about that. She said 'no one wants to have sex' and I had to, kind of, calm her down and say 'are you okay?' Literally, I told her no one is going to have sex in front of nine other guys.' McLeod said the woman felt better after he talked to her, but then she was offering to give men oral sex. 'I got one and Carter Hart got another one and, maybe, Dillon Dube.' Before that happened, McLeod said he took the first video seen during the trial when he asked if she was fine with what was happening because he was 'worried something like this could happen . . . I just made sure she was okay with this.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There were several times that the woman put her clothes on and took them off. He thought she was 'embarrassed' and said he asked her at least five times if she was okay. It was almost 4 a.m. when the men left the room. 'I mean all these guys are smart guys, they know kind of what's best for them . . . so they just, they didn't want to, you know, get out of hand, so they just left, and it was late too,' McLeod said. He added that he took the second video in which she 'wasn't black-out drunk' and said she was consenting to everything and asked why he was so 'paranoid' and told him she 'had fun.' Once everyone was gone, McLeod said he hopped in the shower and she came in, too. They had sex again. 'And she was getting dressed and looking for her stuff and couldn't find the ring she was wearing and she was pretty upset about that,' he said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. McLeod said they looked for the ring for 10 minutes or so, but he and Formenton wanted to go to bed so they could play golf the next day. 'We calmed her down . . . but you could tell she was kind of upset when she left.' The next day, Hockey Canada let him know the police had been called. He tracked the woman down through Instagram and messaged her. She said she was busy but told him her mother called the police and she had told her not to. Newton asked McLeod if he had regrets. 'So if this opportunity happened again, what do you think you would do?' Said McLeod: 'I'd probably just shut it down right away . . . probably go.' The trial continues. jsims@ Toronto Maple Leafs World Columnists Canada World
Toronto Sun
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
Hockey Canada trial: NHLer Brett Howden breaks down during testimony
Even professional hockey players have raw emotions. Jane Sims Published May 22, 2025 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 5 minute read From left, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Michael McLeod enter the London courthouse on May 20, 2025. (Photos by Mike Hensen and Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press) Even professional hockey players have raw emotions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A week after Vegas Golden Knights player Brett Howden was eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs after a hard-fought series with the Edmonton Oilers, he was wiping tears from his eyes and trying to compose himself while testifying in court Thursday. He was asked to recall what he was thinking when he found out Hockey Canada was investigating his 2018 world junior championship team. 'I was very nervous when this was going on,' Howden said to questions from defence lawyer Lisa Carnelos, who represents Dillon Dube, 26, one of five teammates on trial for sexual assault. 'One of the hardest things I had to go through was explaining this to my family,' he said, particularly his father. Carnelos added he would have to tell his girlfriend, someone who 'was very important to you.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'She is, she's my wife,' he said. He lost his composure and started to cry. He confirmed he had just become a father for the second time. 'Congratulations,' Carnelos said. Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia asked if he needed a moment to compose himself. 'I'm okay,' he replied. It was a dramatic moment during questioning over a series of text messages Howden exchanged with teammate Taylor Raddysh on June 26, 2018, when Raddysh told him Hockey Canada was investigating what happened in Room 209 at the Delta Armouries hotel a week earlier. The team had been in London for a gala and golf tournament to celebrate their gold medal win. Dube, 26, Michael McLeod, 27, Carter Hart, 26, Alex Formenton, 25, and Cal Foote, 26, have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault. McLeod also pleaded not guilty to a second sexual assault count for being a party to the offence. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Howden, who began his testimony earlier this week, was one of the men who dropped in to McLeod's room after a group of teammates had closed down Jack's Bar on Richmond Row. McLeod returned to the hotel with a then-20 year-old woman for consensual sex. She alleges that after the first encounter, she was sexually assaulted by multiple members of the hockey team. The woman, now 27, whose name is protected by court order, testified for more than a week, telling the court that she was extremely intoxicated and had significant memory lapses about what happened in the hotel room with the men. She also described having what could best be described as an out-of-body experience to cope with the situation and believed she had to comply with their sexual requests to protect herself. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But the defence has collectively presented an alternative scenario, pointing to the woman as the aggressor who asked McLeod to invite the team to the room for 'a wild night,' and who initiated sexual activity – even taunting the men when they ignored her. Thursday's emotional testimony from Howden was part of a continued Crown application to allow the prosecution to cross-examine its own witness for inconsistencies compared to past recollections recorded in the text messages. Back then, Howden was a 19-year-old prospect on the cusp of his NHL career. He was in New York at a development camp at the time of the conversation with Raddysh. Crown attorney Meaghan Cunningham asked Howden to review one section of the messages after Raddysh told him about the Hockey Canada investigation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'Dude, I'm so happy I left when all the sh— went down,' Howden wrote. 'Duber (Dube) was smacking the girl's ass so hard, it looked like it hurt so bad.' The allegation against Dube is that he slapped the woman on the butt. Howden said he had no reason to lie when he wrote the message, but repeatedly said he has no memory of the text conversation when it was shown to him. 'Do you believe you were being truthful in what you said in those messages to Mr. Raddysh?' Cunningham asked. 'Yeah, I believe I was being truthful,' Howden said. Carnelos, however, went further. Howden agreed the text conversation with Raddysh was casual and not a formal statement. He also agreed it was likely the first time he was told that Hockey Canada was investigating the situation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He also agreed he was 'very nervous when all this was going on.' He added he remembered talking to Raddysh about the investigation, but not the text exchange and when he was shown them they were 'honestly a surprise to me.' 'One of the things I am trying to get across I don't know why. . . . It's just hard to remember my thought process. It's just hard to see them and even try to explain them,' Howden said. Carnelos suggested it was just 'banter with a buddy' and given what was going through his mind at the time of the text exchange, Howden's comments might not be accurate. 'I'm sorry, I'm trying hard. It's hard to remember why I sent this text,' Howden said. 'I had no reason, I'm not saying I lied or anything. I just don't remember what I was thinking when I I sent those texts. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I'm trying hard to think back in that time, but there's a lot of things that are hard to remember because for so long, we've just been trying to move on and forget about it.' Howden added: 'Obviously I remember the gist of what happened that night, but . . . it's hard for me to go back in that time and remember it.' Carnelos suggested he was very worried about his professional career at the time of the text exchange, but Howden said it was not his main concern. 'I was more so worried about Hockey Canada and the standard and their code of conduct. I never thought it would come to what it has now. I was just worried about what Hockey Canada would think and the fact that there was even a girl there,' he said. 'I played with Hockey Canada growing up a lot, and that was the main thing I was worried about.' The trial is ongoing jsims@ Read More Toronto Maple Leafs Tennis Editorial Cartoons World World
