Judge finds all 5 former Hockey Canada players not guilty in sex assault trialJustice 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 LatestAll five former players with Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team have been found not guilty of sexual assault.Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia says she didn’t find the complainant’s evidence to be “credible or reliable,” and the Crown failed to prove she didn’t consent to the sexual activity in a London, Ont., hotel room.The judge spent hours recounting all of the evidence heard, focusing on discrepancies between E.M.’s evidence this year and her civil lawsuit in 2022.The complainant was not in the courtroom but watched the hearing remotely.WARNING: Court proceedings included details of alleged sexual assault and might affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected.UpdatesJuly 247 minutes agoCourt is done, but lawyers are going speak outside Kate DubinskiCourt is now adjourned.The men did not initially react as Carroccia was ruling “not guilty” on each count. Then there were fist pumps and hugs among the accused men, and their family members and lawyers.The Crown and E.M.’s lawyer are expected to speak in about half an hour outside the courthouse, and defence lawyers are expected to make statements in about an hour. We will be back on this page covering their remarks.21 minutes agoAll 5 defendants have been acquittedRhianna SchmunkComposite image shows five former NHL players accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a London, Ont., hotel in 2018 when they were on Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team. Each is shown entering the courthouse Monday: Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod, left to right. (Carlos Osorio/Reuters)All five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team have been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in a London, Ont., hotel room in 2018. “The accused are free to go,” Carroccia says.The Crown has 30 days to file a notice of appeal, in which they would have to set out legal flaws in Carroccia’s reasoning.23 minutes agoMcLeod not guilty of both counts against himRhianna SchmunkMichael McLeod, left, arrives at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Thursday. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Michael McLeod, 27, has been found not guilty of sexual assault. He had been accused of assaulting E.M. in the hotel room by having vaginal and oral sex with her without her consent.He has also been found not guilty of an additional charge of being party to the offence. Prosecutors had claimed he assisted and encouraged his teammates to engage in sexual acts with her knowing she had not consented. On the latter, Carroccia said she found E.M. was “asking the men to participate in the sexual activity” that night and that McLeod checked in with her to make sure she was OK. “I am not satisfied that he invited the men into Room 209 without the knowledge of E.M.,” she says.33 minutes agoDubé not guiltyRhianna SchmunkDillon Dube arrives at the Superior Court of Justice in London on Thursday. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Dillon Dubé, 27, has been found not guilty of sexual assault. He had been accused of obtaining oral sex from E.M. and, separately, slapping her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else.“I cannot find beyond a reasonable doubt that this conduct on the part of the complainant was non-consensual,” Carroccia said of E.M. performing oral sex.She found Dubé’s did slap of E.M.’s buttocks, but doesn’t think Dube was one of the men taking turns slapping her as hard as they could.38 minutes agoFoote not guiltyRhianna SchmunkCal Foote arrives at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in London, Ontario on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Cal Foote, 26, has been found not guilty of sexual assault. He had been accused of assaulting E.M. by doing the splits above her face while she was lying on the hotel room floor.Carroccia finds he did do the splits, but the Crown did not prove there was contact with E.M.’s face or that the splits were sexual in nature.44 minutes agoFormenton not guiltyRhianna SchmunkAlex Formenton arrives at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in London, Ontario on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)Alex Formenton, 25, has been found not guilty of sexual assault. He had been accused of vaginally penetrating E.M. in the bathroom of the hotel room without her consent.“Consent can be communicated by words and conduct,” Corroccia says. In this case, she found E.M. “expressed a willingness to engage in sexual activity” with Formenton.“I accept his evidence that it was a mutual decision to go to the bathroom,” the justice says.47 minutes agoHart not guiltyRhianna SchmunkCarter Hart is seen outside the courthouse in London, Ont. (Nicole Osborne/The Canadian Press)Carter Hart, 26, has been found not guilty of sexual assault. He had been accused of obtaining non-consensual oral sex from E.M. on the night in question, but Carroccia found the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that E.M. did not consent.48 minutes agoJudge weighed whether consent was ‘vitiated’ by fearKate DubinskiCarroccia is discussing the charge against Hart.“E.M. was acting in a forward sexual manner,” Carroccia says. Hart “asked for oral sex with the complainant and the complainant indicated by her words and by her actions that she would engage.” There was consent, but was the consent “vitiated by her fear?” Basically, did E.M. think she had only two choices: comply or face harm? E.M. testified she didn’t know the men were going to enter the room, and she was shocked and scared when they did. But Carroccia says she does not believe E.M. only complied because she was too scared. There was no violence or threats of violence, Carroccia says, and the men said she was smiling, and she doesn’t seem afraid in the first consent video. 55 minutes agoPlayers’ group chats not collusion, Carroccia says Kate DubinskiCarroccia says the hockey players’ group chat in the days after June 18 and 19, 2018, were not evidence that the men were trying to get their stories straight. “The Crown suggests that the players concocted the evidence. I disagree with this characterization. They were recounting their recollections.” 58 minutes agoKate DubinskiE.M. was inconsistent about what she thought would happen after the consensual sex with McLeod in the Delta hotel room. At first, she said she’d spend the night. Then in cross-examination, she said she thought she’d be going home at that time. When defence lawyers suggested maybe she was waiting in the room for other men to show up because that’s what asked McLeod to set up, she denied the suggestion because “‘it doesn’t sound like something I would say,’” Carroccia recounts her saying. The way we behave sober is different than how we behave when drunk, Carroccia says. When E.M. was naked in the room and other men showed up, she “didn’t retreat. She walked into the room naked and began to masturbate on a bed sheet,” Carroccia says. The men who testified agreed that she did so willingly, Carroccia points out, and she believes them.
All 5 former Hockey Canada players found not guilty of sexual assault
