Judge in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial going over evidence as she delivers rulingJustice Maria Carroccia is delivering her decisions in the world junior hockey sexual assault trial — a case that dates back to 2018 and played out over eight weeks in a London, Ont., court. Five ex-players are charged with sexually assaulting a woman, known as E.M. due to a standard publication ban, in a hotel room. (WARNING: This livestream references sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone impacted by it.) The LatestOntario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia is delivering her decisions in the London sexual assault trial of five former players with Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team.Carroccia says she didn’t find the complainant’s evidence to be “credible or reliable,” and said the Crown did not prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.The justice has spent more than two hours going through the evidence heard at trial, focusing on discrepancies between E.M.’s evidence this year and her civil lawsuit in 2022.The accused — Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé and Cal Foote — had all pleaded not guilty.The complainant, E.M., is not in the courtroom but her lawyer says she is watching the hearing remotely.WARNING: Court proceedings include details of alleged sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected.UpdatesJuly 247 minutes agoWhat Foote’s lawyer saidKate DubinskiJulianna Greenspan, lawyer for Cal Foote, addresses the court. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)Foote’s lawyer argued his client did nothing wrong. The splits were not sexual, he didn’t touch her sexually, and he was fully clothed when he did the partial splits, Carroccia recounts the lawyer as saying. Carroccia says Foote’s lawyers argued the splits weren’t sexual in nature.8 minutes agoWhat Dubé’s lawyer saidKate DubinskiThe defence team for Dillon Dubé, one of the accused men, questions a witness as Justice Maria Carroccia listens on. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)Dubé’s defence team argued E.M. was “‘working on her story’” for years before testifying and that Dubé got “brief oral sex from a person who willingly engaged in that sexual activity,’” Carroccia says in reiterating what the lawyers said. 13 minutes agoWhat Formenton’s lawyers saidKate DubinskiDan Brown, lawyer for Alex Formenton, holds a shot glass during his cross-examination of E.M. in May. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)Formenton’s lawyer argued that E.M. consented and she was not too scared to consent, Carroccia recounts. “‘She asked for sex and he had sex with her. Consent while impaired but not incapacitated is still consent.’” E.M. lied, Formenton’s legal team argued, and used drunkenness as a crutch to “‘explain the inexplicable,’” the judge says. 14 minutes agoWhat Hart’s lawyers said Kate DubinskiMegan Savard, defence lawyer for Carter Hart, is seen in a court sketch speaking during her closing argument. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)E.M.’s evidence was rehearsed and there’s no basis to believe that her mind separated from her body, Carroccia recalls Hart’s defence team as arguing. “‘Her behaviour looked like she was consenting, and she was in fact consenting. There is no consent-vitiating level of fear,’” and no evidence of physical coercion — no use of force or threat of force, the judge says, quoting the position of Hart’s legal team.22 minutes agoWhat McLeod’s lawyers saidKate DubinskiDavid Humphrey, a defence lawyer for Michael McLeod, is seen speaking during closing arguments. (Alexandra Newbould/CBC)The McLeod defence team’s position is that the Crown’s case rests entirely on E.M.’s credibility, and that she is not credible or reliable. This was a wild night of uninhibited sex fuelled by alcohol, McLeod’s lawyers argued, and it is “‘preposterous’” to think that E.M. was being sexually suggestive because she was scared of the men, Carroccia notes. “‘It is inconceivable’” that it would take E.M. years to process her fear of that night, the judge notes McLeod’s team as arguing, and E.M.’s testimony was more like that of a person who was advocating for her own cause rather than being a witness in a trial.29 minutes agoThe Crown’s positionKate DubinskiCarroccia is summarizing the Crown’s position, including the prosecution’s position that any inconsistencies in E.M.’s testimony were minor and on peripheral issues. The Crown contended other evidence corroborated E.M.’s evidence, the judge notes. Prosecutors also said E.M. didn’t have any motive to lie and the “consent videos” prove McLeod knew she didn’t consent and made her record them.The Crown’s position is also that the consent videos are not evidence of consent, Carrocia states.37 minutes agoDubé’s police interviewKate DubinskiDillon Dubé arrives at the courthouse in London, Ont. on May 1. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)Dubé’s police interview, an audio recording, was played in court. He told police he was “‘shocked’” at how E.M. was talking to the men and that “‘if things were bad, he would have stopped and kicked the guys out,’” Carroccia says. He saw Hart get oral sex that wasn’t forced and didn’t last long, Dubé told police, and most of the men didn’t want to do anything because they had girlfriends. He also received oral sex and then stumbled back, drunk, and left the room. 40 minutes agoMcLeod’s police interviewKate DubinskiMichael McLeod outside the courthouse in London, Ont., last month. (Brett Gundlock/Reuters)Carroccia goes over McLeod’s interview with police, including the two “consent videos” that he recorded of E.M. McLeod told police he took the videos to ensure he had proof that she wanted everything that happened that night. He also told police E.M. was instigating the sexual encounters and he was “shocked” at how sexually forward she was being. McLeod told police the teammates came to his room because they wanted food and denied sending a text message inviting them over to have sex with the woman in the hotel room. McLeod was the only player to face an additional charge of being party to an offence in this case. “‘She was leading the way and asking for things,’” Carroccia quotes McLeod as saying to the officer. McLeod told police he asked E.M. “‘at least five times’” if she was OK. 46 minutes agoFormenton’s police interviewKate DubinskiAlex Formenton arrives at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in London, Ontario on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Carroccia now turns to evidence involving Formenton, who was interviewed by a London police officer in 2018.Formenton said he saw E.M. masturbating on the bed sheet on the hotel room floor. He told police he didn’t hear any comments about golf clubs. He also told the officer that everything was instigated by E.M., including the sex the two had in the bathroom. Formenton also told police he watched McLeod taking a video of E.M. at the end of the night. 51 minutes agoKate DubinskiHart testified that none of the players approached him to compare statements at any time, Carroccia notes. He also said he learned about the civil lawsuit settlement in 2022, after it happened, from his agent. The settlement was done “‘without his knowledge or consent,’” Carroccia quotes him as testifying.Hart testified the mood in the hotel room in 2018 was one of “excitement and awkwardness”, and said he would have left the room if anything disrespectful was going on.
Judge in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial delivering her rulings
