Content warning: This story includes allegations of sexual assault.
LONDON, Ont. — After seven intensive weeks in court, the prosecution and defense have concluded presenting evidence and calling witnesses in the trial of five former NHL players accused in a 2018 sexual assault case.
On June 9, the primary lawyers representing each of the five accused individuals will begin presenting their closing arguments. Ahead of this next phase of the trial, it is opportune to review the key events that have led to this point and anticipate what is expected to happen next.
JUNE 2018
June 17-19: Members of the Canadian world junior men’s and sledge hockey teams gather in London, Ontario, for a gala celebrating their gold medal victories.
June 18-19: An alleged sexual assault occurs in Room 209 of the Delta Armouries hotel in London. The complainant is referred to as E.M. due to a publication ban.
June 19: E.M.`s mother and her partner report the incident at the Delta Armouries to the London Police Service and Hockey Canada. Glen McCurdie, then Hockey Canada’s vice-president of insurance and risk management, contacts lawyer Danielle Robitaille at Henein Hutchison and reports the incident to London police.
June 22: LPS Detective Stephen Newton interviews E.M.
June 30-July 11: Robitaille interviews 10 of the 19 players from the 2018 world juniors team as part of her investigation.
Sept. 14: While awaiting E.M.’s participation, Robitaille submits an “interim report” to Hockey Canada.
Nov. 17: Det. Newton interviews Michael McLeod in person.
Nov. 24: Newton interviews Alex Formenton in person.
Dec. 18: Newton interviews Dillon Dube via conference call.
FEBRUARY 2019
Feb. 7: Newton closes the LPS investigation, stating there are insufficient grounds for charges.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Robitaille concludes her investigation for Hockey Canada.
APRIL 2022
April 20: A settlement claim is filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeking $3.55 million in damages for the plaintiff. The lawsuit names Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight “John Doe” players.
MAY 2022
May 26: A report reveals Hockey Canada settled a civil lawsuit with a woman alleging sexual assault by eight men, including members of the 2018 Canadian men’s world junior team, after a London event in June 2018.
The NHL initiates its own investigation into the incident.
JUNE 2022
June 20: A Parliamentary committee commences hearings into Hockey Canada’s operations and its handling of the incident. Executives Tom Renney and Scott Smith provide testimony.
June 22: Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge suspends Hockey Canada’s federal funding.
JULY 2022
July 14: Hockey Canada, through Robitaille, reopens its investigation and mandates cooperation from all 2018 team players, threatening bans from future sanctioned events for non-compliance.
July 18: Reports surface that Hockey Canada used minor hockey fees to fund uninsured liabilities, including sexual assault claims.
July 19: Hockey Canada announces it will cease using the fund for such claims.
July 22: LPS reopens its investigation, with Det. Lyndsey Ryan appointed as the new lead investigator.
July 22: Police announce investigation into allegations of group sexual assault by Canadian world junior players at the 2003 tournament in Halifax. This investigation is ongoing.
July 26: Robitaille testifies before the Parliamentary committee that E.M. agreed to participate in the reopened investigation. She does not name the eight John Does.
July 27: Smith informs the Parliamentary committee that Hockey Canada paid out $8.9 million to settle 21 sexual misconduct lawsuits. In subsequent days, multiple sponsors pause or sever ties with Hockey Canada.
OCTOBER 2022
Oct. 1-18: Robitaille interviews McLeod, Dube, and Formenton.
Oct. 13: Smith resigns as CEO, and Hockey Canada`s entire board of directors steps down.
NOVEMBER 2022
Robitaille submits her second completed report to Hockey Canada, which has not been made public.
JULY 2023
July 4: Katherine Henderson, former CEO of Curling Canada, is named the new CEO and president of Hockey Canada.
NOVEMBER 2023
Nov. 14: Hockey Canada states it is appealing the findings of Robitaille’s report.
JANUARY 2024
Jan. 28, 30: Charges are laid. McLeod is charged by the LPS with two counts of sexual assault, including one count relating to aiding in the offense. Dube, Formenton, Cal Foote, and Carter Hart are each charged with one count of sexual assault.
FEBRUARY 2024
Feb. 2: The NHL concludes its investigation. Both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh state they will await the outcome of criminal proceedings before taking action.
Feb. 5: LPS chief Thai Truong apologizes to E.M. in a media conference “for the amount of time that it has taken” to lay charges.
NOVEMBER 2024
Nov. 28: Justice Bruce Thomas, presiding over pre-trial motions and hearings, rules the second Hockey Canada investigation, including interviews by Robitaille, is inadmissible for the trial.
APRIL 2025
Justice Maria Carroccia, a former defense attorney, is named as the trial judge.
April 22: The trial commences. Charges are read in court, and the accused plead not guilty. Jury selection begins.
April 25: Carroccia declares a mistrial one day into proceedings, citing jury tainting concerns after a defense lawyer and a juror encounter each other during a lunch break.
April 28: The trial restarts with a new jury.
April 30: Text messages from a group chat involving players present in Room 209 (where the alleged assault occurred) in June 2018 are presented as evidence. Notably, consecutive texts from McLeod include: “Who wants to be in a 3 way quick” signed “209- mikey.”
April 30: Taylor Raddysh, the first team member to testify, appears via Zoom and states he wasn’t in the room long and, “I don’t have any recollection of what I saw in that room.”
MAY 2025
May 2: Boris Katchouk testifies via Zoom he was in Room 209 for a few minutes and did not speak to a woman on a bed before leaving.
May 2: E.M. testifies via CCTV, beginning nine days on the stand. She states she consumed 12 alcoholic drinks that night.
May 5: E.M. testifies that after consensual sex with McLeod, she was sexually assaulted and feared for her safety with multiple players present. She recalls players discussing sexually assaulting her with a golf club. She also states she doesn’t remember the two cellphone videos where she appears to give consent. “I’m saying what they’re wanting me to say. … I don’t think it reflected how I was feeling,” she tells the court.
May 7: E.M. testifies she was not a willing participant: “Feeling like I was completely out of my body, I didn`t feel like I was an active participant when I was that numb,” she states. After intense cross-examination by Hart’s lawyer, E.M. breaks down in tears.
May 14: E.M.`s final day testifying. She states her understanding when participating in the civil lawsuit was that no players would be publicly named.
May 14-17: Former player Tyler Steenbergen testifies that Foote and Dube each called him asking him not to tell Hockey Canada investigators what he saw them do on June 19, 2018. Steenbergen says he “partially” saw Foote do the splits over E.M. and Dube slap her buttocks: “It wasn’t hard, but it didn’t seem soft either.”
May 16: The second jury is dismissed after a juror sends a note to Carroccia alleging members of the Formenton defense team were making fun of jurors. The defense successfully argues for the trial to continue as judge-only.
May 20-22: Brett Howden testifies via Zoom. His memory of previous statements is repeatedly questioned by the Crown, leading to him being treated as essentially a hostile witness. Howden cries after being asked by defense lawyer Lisa Carnelos about discussing the incident with his girlfriend (now wife).
May 26: Carroccia rules, for the second time in two days, that text messages between Howden and Raddysh are inadmissible. These texts included Howden telling Raddysh he saw Dube smacking “the girl’s (butt) so hard, it looked like it hurt so bad.”
May 27: Howden concludes his testimony, denying to defense lawyer Julianna Greenspan that he was minimizing his role. A video of McLeod`s police interview is shown. McLeod states he checked “five times” if E.M. was okay and denies anyone sent a text inviting players to the room for sex.
May 28: A video of Formenton`s police interview is shown. An audio recording of Newton’s phone interview with Dube is also played. Neither mention E.M. being slapped on the buttocks. Newton testifies he was unaware of a group chat where players discussed the incident.
May 29: The Crown concludes its case. Hart takes the stand, the only one of the five accused to do so. He testifies his sexual contact with E.M. was consensual, he saw E.M. holding hands with Formenton going to the bathroom, and he wouldn`t have tolerated anything “disrespectful” happening to the woman. Hart is repeatedly challenged by the Crown regarding his memory of events.
June 2: Defense lawyers state they have no further witnesses or evidence. The Crown has no further questions.
WHAT’S NEXT
June 9: The five primary defense lawyers will begin presenting their closing submissions. Following the defense, the Crown will present its closing arguments. Afterward, Justice Carroccia will indicate when she expects to deliver her findings and ruling. This date is not expected to be immediate, although expectations are the defense will advocate for a sooner date rather than later.
Tristan Blackwood