The London, Ontario police department held a press conference this afternoon, detailing the sexual assault charges brought against five members of the 2018 Canadian World Junior hockey team.
The presser had been scheduled since January 24th, after a report from The Globe and Mail revealed that five players from that team had been told to surrender to police. We’ve known the identities of the accused since January 30th – Carter Hart (PHI), Michael McLeod (NJD), Cal Foote (NJD), Dillon Dube (CGY), and Alex Formenton (Swiss team HC Ambri-Piotta).
There had been growing speculation prior to official confirmation about these individuals’ roles in the sexual assault case, as each player was granted a leave of absence from their respective clubs leading up to the announced charges.
Today, the public received further clarification on the events that took place on the evening of June 18, 2018 in downtown London.
First to speak was Chief Thai Troung of the London Police Service. “I am here today to share with you the results of an investigative review ordered in July of 2022 by now retired Chief Steve Williams into a 2018 sexual assault investigation.”
“I will refer to the individual at the center of this case as the victim, in accordance with her wishes, rather than using terms such as complainant or survivor.”
Troung confirmed that the accused and the victim met at a downtown London bar after celebrating a gold-medal victory at the 2018 World Junior Championship. The victim was later invited to a hotel room, where the alleged crimes took place.
Troung read each individual by name, along with the charges brought against them. All of the aforementioned have been charged with one count of sexual assault, with the exception of Michael McLeod, who received two. His second charge is officially “party to the offense”, the details of which remain unclear. When pressed about the second charge, London police said, “The one charge he is laid with is in relation to his own actions. The party to the offense charge is in relation to aiding someone else in the offense.” They could not elaborate further.
Before handing the podium to Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann, Troung issued an apology directly to the victim.
“I want to extend, on behalf of the London Police Service, my sincerest apology to the victim, to her family for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point.”
Both Troung and Dann confirmed the 2018 investigation into the matter had been initially concluded with no charges or further action. In July 2022, due to additional leads and witnesses, the investigation was reopened. Sergeant Dann stated that some of the evidence gathered as part of the reopening was not available in the initial investigation four years prior, though specifics were not revealed.
The London Police department allotted time for questioning, where they were pressed about the details of the initial investigation and if there were failings in that process. When asked if London Police made a mistake in not laying a charge in 2019, Troung said, “Actually, it’s one investigation, not two. And I’m apologizing to the victim and to her family because it’s taken this long. It shouldn’t take years and years for us to arrive to the outcome of today.”
Most of the questions regarding specifics and newly revealed evidence had to go unanswered so as to not interfere with ongoing court proceedings.
Several reporters remarked that initially 8 members of the Canadian Junior Hockey team were reported to be involved. When questioned about the possibility of more charges, Dann stated, “I can’t answer that. Like I said, we have laid all the charges that we have reasonable grounds for.”
Of note, Dann also revealed that other members of the team had been cooperating during their investigation.
The group’s first court hearing occurred this morning, shortly before the press conference. Their next appearance in court is scheduled for April 30th.
