A renewed investigation into an alleged 2018 se*xual assault has led to the arrest and charging of five individuals, including one former and four current NHL players, according to Ontario police.
The accused, identified as the Philadelphia Flyers’ Carter Hart, the New Jersey Devils’ Cal Foote, Michael McLeod, and the Calgary Flames’ Dillon Dubé, along with ex-NHL player Alex Formenton, faced their first court appearances over a video call on Monday.
The charges stem from an alleged se*xual assault in June 2018 that took place in a hotel room in London, Ontario. At the time, the accused were part of Canada’s world junior ice hockey team celebrating their gold medal win at a Hockey Canada event. All five have vehemently denied the allegations through their legal representatives.
Se*x Assault Case Involving Canadian Hockey Players (Credits: CNN)
Detective Sgt. Katherine Dann revealed that the investigation was reopened after a phone call from an individual related to the victim seeking advice regarding the se*xual assault. She explained, “As a result of the information disclosed the following day, the report was assigned to the se*xual assault and child abuse section.”
An initial investigation between June 2018 and February 2019 was closed due to insufficient grounds for charges. However, the case was reopened in July 2022, discovering that additional steps could have been taken, leading to new leads and additional witnesses.
Dann confirmed that some of the evidence was not available during the initial investigation, but she couldn’t provide specifics due to the ongoing nature of the case. Last week, the five defendants were summoned to surrender following the filing of charges.
In 2022, a civil suit related to the same 2018 incident was filed, accusing eight players from the 2018 world juniors team of se*xually abusing and assaulting a 20-year-old Ontario native referred to as E.M.
The plaintiff dropped the suit in May 2022 after reaching a settlement with the defendants. The details of the settlement remain undisclosed.
Lawyers representing the accused NHL players stated that their clients were not guilty and looked forward to clearing their names in court.
Alex Formenton, who played for the NHL’s Ottawa Senators in 2017, took an indefinite leave of absence from the Swiss hockey club Ambrì-Piotta on Jan. 24. The other players, Hart, Foote, McLeod, and Dubé, also took indefinite leaves amid the ongoing investigation.
The NHL, after conducting its own 12-month investigation into the allegations, announced that it does not expect the four NHL players to return for the season.
However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman did not comment on whether the investigation found wrongdoing on their behalf.
Hockey Canada, which cooperated with the London Police Service, held a hearing to determine if the accused breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct.
The players are currently suspended from playing, coaching, officiating, or volunteering with Hockey Canada. Katherine Henderson, the president and CEO of Hockey Canada, acknowledged past delays in acting on such matters and expressed the need for urgent measures to regain public trust.
