Defence lawyer Dan Brown, left, questions E.M. by video on Thursday. Judge Maria Carroccia is on the right. Brown represents Alex Formenton in the sex assault trial for five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)The LatestCross-examination is back underway in the sexual assault trial for five former players on Canada’s world junior hockey team.A defence lawyer for one of the men is questioning E.M. about how much she had to drink at London, Ont., bar the night of the alleged assault.E.M. disagrees with questions about her memory, saying it would be “impossible” to remember a night out second by second.The accused – Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod – have all pleaded not guilty.WARNING: Court proceedings include graphic details of alleged sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who’s been affected.UpdatesMay 95 minutes agoE.M. knew a Jack’s bouncerKate DubinskiE.M. admits that she didn’t mention to police or Hockey Canada that a bouncer she knew from high school was working at the bar on the night in June 2018.After watching the video surveillance footage for the first time during trial preparation in March 2025, she wrote a letter to the main London police detective telling her she had not previously mentioned the bouncer but wanted to explain after noticing herself speaking to him on video.“I didn’t mention him [earlier] because I didn’t see him later in the night and he wouldn’t have any knowledge of what happened,” she wrote to the detective in March. “I was concerned about my privacy and I didn’t want to implicate him in this matter.” 21 minutes agoJägerbomb shots at Jack’s only have half-ouncesKate DubinskiA bit of show-and-tell here in the courtroom. Brown has brought in a one-ounce shot glass and a Jägerbomb shot glass from Jack’s. He pours the Jägerbomb shot into the one-ounce glass so we (and the jury) see that it is about half full. “You had eight Jägerbomb shots, [but that] was the equivalent of four shots of alcohol. You hadn’t drunk as much as you thought,” Brown says to E.M.Brown suggests E.M. “unintentionally” left the impression she had more alcohol in her body than she actually did. Brown also says Formenton wasn’t at the bar at all that night because he was 18 years old, which under law is underage for consuming alcohol. 31 minutes agoWho bought E.M.’s drinksKate DubinskiBrown points out that E.M. told police investigators in 2018 and Hockey Canada investigators in 2022 that she bought herself two shots and didn’t pay for any other drinks that night. On video shown in court, she’s seen taking out money from an ATM and buying herself some drinks after the two shots. “You said you got it wrong in 2022 because you hadn’t looked at your 2018 statement,” Brown says. “Why did you say that in 2018?”E.M. responds: “I don’t recall saying I didn’t buy my own drinks; I said for the large portion of the night I wasn’t paying for drinks.”Brown is going through how much E.M. has said she bought. 46 minutes agoCross-examination resumesKate DubinskiThe morning break is over and Brown has resumed showing E.M. surveillance video from Jack’s bar.1 hour agoCourt is now on a breakKate DubinskiCross-examination will continue afterward.1 hour agoID’ing the men entering the barKate DubinskiBrown shows a video of players from the world junior team entering Jack’s bar one after the other.He asks E.M. if she recognizes any of the men. She says she can’t identify most of them. “I didn’t know anybody that night.” 1 hour agoBrown introduces handwritten noteKatie NicholsonBrown has entered a new exhibit: a sheet of paper with a picture of Sam Steel, another member of the 2018 world juniors team who’s currently with the NHL’s Dallas Stars.Handwriting under the photo says, “I don’t remember him from Jack’s but he was in the room and I performed oral on him.”Brown and E.M. agree the London police detective wrote down E.M.’s responses to the picture at the time of their interview in 2018.“You wrongfully accused [Steel],” Brown said after some back and forth. Court has heard somebody else ultimately identified another defendant, Carter Hart, as a suspect who allegedly received oral sex from E.M.“OK,” E.M. responds.E.M. has been asked several times over the last few days about her inability to distinguish between some of the players, in particular those with blondish hair.2 hours agoMemory of what happened at bar questionedKate DubinskiBrown shows E.M. videos from Jack’s bar. He points out the chronology seen on video is different than what she described in her 2022 statement to Hockey Canada. For example, she guessed back then that she danced for a short time — maybe 15 minutes — and men bought her drinks all night. Video shows E.M. dancing for one minute and going to the bar with a friend before buying two more shots. “I just want to be really clear here,” Brown says. “I’m not trying to trick you into saying something. You are acknowledging that your best memory was wrong.” E.M. says that’s not really true. She says it’s impossible to have a “complete recollection of every single second” of that night.Her 2022 statement was a high-level reconstruction, she says, not a minute-by-minute play by play. 2 hours agoShot glass from bar entered as exhibitKate DubinskiBrown has been showing E.M. videos from Jack’s bar. She’s seen doing a shot of vodka or tequila with a friend. Brown asks E.M. to open an envelope in her CCTV room where she’s under cross-examination. In it is a small plastic shot glass, which he says came from Jack’s. He also shows the one-ounce shot glass to the jury and it is entered as an exhibit in the trial. Brown summarizes E.M. had had the following to drink by about 11:20 p.m. or 11:40 p.m. ET in 2018: Two coolers at home, two Jägerbombs, a vodka or tequila shot and a vodka soda. 2 hours ago’Answer the questions you’re asked’Kate DubinskiInside, Brown has resumed his cross-examination from yesterday as proceedings get a testy start. He tells E.M. she has been testifying for such a long time because she’s “not directly responding” to the questions he’s asking. He tells her to just answer, for example, “I agree.” She says that’s fine, but “it’s also my time to stand up for myself when I couldn’t that night, if that’s all right.” “No, that’s not all right,” Brown says. Justice Maria Carroccia tells E.M. to “just answer the questions you’re asked.”
Defence for ex-world junior player accused of sexual assault grills woman about gaps in memory
