Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior ice hockey team have been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ontario hotel room, a judge ruled on Thursday.
The accused – Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Cal Foote – were charged with one count of sexual assault each, while McLeod faced an additional count of being a party to an offence. All five men, who were part of the gold medal-winning squad, pleaded not guilty. Justice Maria Carroccia delivered the verdict after a judge-alone trial, citing a lack of credible evidence from the complainant, known publicly only as E.M. due to a publication ban.
Carroccia stated that she did not find the complainant’s testimony “credible or reliable” and that the Crown had failed to prove she did not consent to the sexual activity. The decision has left the complainant “very disappointed,” according to her lawyer, Karen Bellehumeur, who said her client had “never experienced not being believed like this before.” Crown prosecutors confirmed they would carefully review the ruling during the appeal period.
The trial, which began in April, faced numerous disruptions, including a mistrial and two dismissed juries, before proceeding without a jury. A police investigation into the alleged assault had initially been closed in 2019. Still, it was reopened in 2022 amid public outrage following reports that Hockey Canada had used player registration fees to settle a civil claim brought by the complainant.
The scandal triggered a major fallout in Canadian sport, leading to a 10-month federal funding freeze for Hockey Canada and the resignation of its CEO and board of directors. Several major sponsors suspended or cancelled partnerships, and the organisation pledged to stop using funds generated by player registration fees to settle sexual assault cases.
The NHL said in a statement that while it respected the legal outcome, the allegations had been “disturbing and unacceptable,” adding that the players would remain ineligible to play in the league while the league conducted its own review.
When the charges were laid in January 2024, McLeod and Foote were with the New Jersey Devils, Dube was with the Calgary Flames, Hart played for the Philadelphia Flyers, and Formenton was competing in Switzerland.
Hockey Canada confirmed it would not comment further due to an ongoing appeal of an independent adjudicative panel’s findings on whether members of the 2018 team breached its code of conduct. The organisation said the panel’s final report has not yet been made public.
