All of the five former members of Canada’s World Junior Hockey team in 2018 have been found not guilty of sexual assault. This is after the Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled the Crown failed to prove the complainant, identified as E.M., did not consent to the sexual activity that took place in a London, Ontario hotel room.
Carroccia said she did not find E.M.’s evidence credible or reliable, noting discrepancies between her testimony and her earlier civil lawsuit. Carroccia criticized E.M. for saying she wanted to share “her truth” rather than “the truth.” The judge also said E.M. exaggerated her level of intoxication and that videos from the night did not support her claim of being too drunk to consent. The judge pointed to video evidence from a London bar showing E.M. acting with awareness and
correcting a bartender who gave her the wrong change.
Each accused, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dubé, and Cal Foote, was acquitted based on a lack of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The Crown now has 30 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.
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