Hockey Canada on Trial for Sexual Assault Incident

The trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Juniors team is currently underway in London, Ontario.[1] Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Cal Foote, and Dillon Dube are on trial 15 months after they were charged with sexual assault stemming from an incident in a “hotel room following the gala celebrating Team Canada’s world junior championship.”[2]

All five individuals are accused of “performing unwanted sexual acts” on a woman in a London, Ontario hotel.[3] “McLeod, Hart, Dube, and Foote were all on NHL rosters when the charges were brought.”[4]

The government provided its opening statement on Monday, April 28^th, telling the jury that the case “is about consent. And equally important, it is about what is not consent.”[5] The same day, the jury was shown “a series of surveillance videos that show E.M., the complainant in the case, arriving at a London bar around 11 p.m. on June 18, 2018.”[6]

On Monday, May 5^th, E.M. told the jury that “she was sexually assaulted and felt that she had to go along with what McLeod and some of his teammates wanted her to do in order to get out of the crowded hotel room safely.”[7]

Daniel Brown, attorney for Alex Formenton, “showed the jury previously unseen surveillance video of the night of June 18, 2018” and argued that “the footage contrasted with the timeline of events that E.M. shared with police in interviews days after the incident.”[8]

The Crown continues to argue that “consent is at the heart of this case.”[9]

CBC news reported that the defense lawyers “commented several times that [E.M.] had clearly been well prepared for the proceedings in London, Ont.”[10] Multiple Canadian lawyers, interviewed by CBC, explained that “the process begins long before the trial.”[11]

“[W]itnesses need to start preparing weeks and sometimes months in advance, particularly if there are a lot of materials, like previous statements of claim or affidavits.”[12]

E.M. was cross-examined by five defense lawyers over the course of seven days.[13] The Crown followed with its own cross examination that concluded on May 14^th.

[1] https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/london-hockey-trial-of-five-former-members-of-canada-s-2018-world-juniors-timeline-of-developments-1.2294350

[2] https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/hockey-canada-sexual-assault-case-woman-accusing-five-former-world-junior-players-testifies-in-court/

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/london-hockey-trial-of-five-former-members-of-canada-s-2018-world-juniors-timeline-of-developments-1.2294350

[6] Id.

[7] Id.

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6345228/2025/05/09/hockey-canada-sexual-assault-trial-cross-examination/

[9] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/hockey-canada-junior-sex-assault-trial-london-ontario-1.7532298

[10] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/world-junior-hockey-trial-former-players-preparing-for-cross-examination-1.7530890

[11] Id.

[12] Id.