Warning: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone who has been affected by sexual violence.
News that five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior Team are expected to be charged with sexual assault has raised questions about the next steps in this high-profile case.
This week, the Globe and Mail reported that players in London, Ont., where an alleged gang sexual assault took place in 2018, have been given until late next week to surrender to police.
London police have declined to comment publicly on the case, but said they would hold a press conference on February 5 about the investigation.
This week, several players from the 2018 World Junior Team applied for and were granted time off from teams in the NHL and Europe. London police have not named any suspects.
Investigators believe the case hinges on the issue of consent, according to a court filing by London police. Testimony provided by the alleged victim and the player contradict each other in important respects.
clock/ Five former world junior hockey players reportedly indicted on sexual assault charges
Five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior Hockey Team have been ordered to surrender to police in London, Ont., over an alleged gang sexual assault in a London hotel room in 2018, The Globe and Mail reports. The paper reported.
Former prosecutor Nick Cake said the players “will be arrested just like anyone else would be arrested.”
“Either they go to the police station and do that, or the police eventually come and find them,” said Cake, now a criminal defense lawyer in London. He is not a representative of anyone involved in the case.
Defendants will then have their rights considered and will be given an opportunity to speak with an attorney, he said.
“Then what I imagine is… [they would be] He was released with a court date and some conditions at that time,” Cake said.
Case
A young woman, commonly known only by her initials “EM,” was sexually assaulted by a group of junior hockey players in a London hotel room after a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and golf event in 2018, according to court filings. He told London police that he had been assaulted.
EM was 20 years old at the time of the incident. London police have not released her name.
Court documents from 2022 reveal that London police believed they had reasonable grounds to charge five players with sexual assault on EM
Police, Hockey Canada and the NHL have all launched investigations but have not released the names of the hockey players allegedly involved. In court filings, the defendants’ names were redacted and listed as “Players #1-5.”
CBC’s Fifth Estate Edited All statements made publicly by players on Canada’s 2018 World Junior Hockey Team regarding sexual assault allegations.
Allegations of misconduct in Hockey Canada
suspicion
EM filed suit in April 2022 against eight anonymous hockey players, Hockey Canada, and the Canadian Hockey League, seeking more than $3.5 million in damages.
In a statement of claim, EM claimed that they had met up with one of the players for drinks at a local bar in London. According to court filings, EM told police that he also remembered an “older gentleman” buying ammunition for the group and pouring a “Jaeger bomb” into their mouths. According to court filings, the man praised the player he was with and told EM to “take care of him.”
EM said in the complaint that he returned to the player’s hotel room and engaged in sexual acts with him.
The complaint alleges that at one point, the player allowed seven other hockey players into the room “without their knowledge or consent.” The suit also says the men brought “golf clubs with the knowledge that they would further frighten and intimidate her.”
According to the complaint, the players engaged in a series of indecent assaults over several hours, including placing their genitals in EM’s face, spanking her, spitting and ejaculating on her, and having vaginal sex with her while she was intoxicated. Alleges that he engaged in sexual acts that caused injury to her. Agree.
At one point, the young woman cried and tried to leave the room, but was “directed, manipulated, and threatened to remain in the room,” the statement said.
What the players told the police
According to court documents prepared by London police, EM and the players largely agree on what happened that night, but disagree on a key issue: consent.
EM told police that he agreed to go to a hotel room with one of the players, but did not consent to another group of players entering the room and performing sexual acts. .
Players interviewed by police did not think so, according to court filings filed by police seeking a search warrant.
London police said in these court filings that they believe EM “did not consent to any sexual activity, other than the specific sexual activity” with the first player. “I didn’t want to do what they made me do,” EM told police in a July 2022 statement.
Recently filed court documents say police have executed search warrants to further investigate five members of the 2018 World Junior Hockey Team who police believe were involved in the alleged sexual assault of a woman in London, Ont. The reason for the request is made clear. None of the police allegations have been heard in court and no charges have been filed.
“She also stated that she attempted to leave multiple times and that the exit to the unit was blocked,” wrote London Police Sgt. David Younan, who prepared the application to the court.
“She explained that she was crying. She explained that she had to run to the bathroom multiple times to get away. She couldn’t say ‘no.'” Throughout the encounter, she I felt disconnected from myself and was inebriated. ”
What the video shows
According to court filings made by London police, the player to whom EM consented to sexual acts was involved in two videos in which he asked EM, “Are you okay?” in a hotel room.
The first clip is around 6 seconds long and EM is seen smiling at the beginning of the video. EM was then seen wiping his eyes and speaking with slurred speech, according to court filings. London police said in a court filing that the video was “short in duration and difficult to interpret in context”.
Police confirmed that the player who brought her to the hotel was recorded asking, “Hey, you’re okay with this, right?”
EM: “Yes.”
Man: “Is this okay?”
EM: “This is fine.”
According to London police court filings, EM told police she didn’t realize she was being recorded, that she was overwhelmed and was wiping her eyes, and that she believed she was crying.
The second video clip is approximately 12 seconds long, according to court filings. The same male voice from the first clip is heard again and EM is seen partially covering himself with a white towel. Police included the video recording in court filings.
Man: “Tell me.”
EM: “Okay, it was all consensual. Are you recording me?”
Man: “That’s right.”
EM: “K, great. This was all consensual.”
Man: “What else do you have?”
EM: “Would that happen? You’re so paranoid, holy shit. I enjoyed it, it was okay, it was all consensual. I’m so sober, so now this I can’t do it.”
Police said in a court filing that the first player told investigators that he was “concerned that something like this might happen in connection with the police investigation.”
“According to EM, the two video clips created by Player #1 were created to prevent her from going to the police,” the sergeant wrote. Yunan. “Player #1 even asked her if she was going to go to her police department… and asked her to resolve the issue with her police department.”
police investigation
London police initially closed their initial investigation into EM’s allegations in February 2019, concluding there were no “reasonable grounds to believe that a sexual assault” had occurred.
Three years later, when EM’s allegations became public through a lawsuit, London police reopened the criminal case following public backlash.
CBC’s Fifth Estate Legal experts said the initial police investigation was “perfunctory at best.”
After Hockey Canada learned of the allegations, it sought legal advice from the law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille on June 19, 2018. The company advised Hockey Canada to contact police.
Two days later, Hockey Canada hired Hennein Hutchison-Robitaille to conduct an independent investigation to uncover the truth and identify systemic or policy issues, the law firm said. That’s what it means.
Hockey Canada then established a so-called “independent adjudication panel” to decide whether the players allegedly involved should face sanctions.
Hockey Canada announced in November that the committee had concluded a closed-door hearing and released its final report. However, Hockey Canada did not disclose the outcome, saying an appeals process is expected to begin “in the near future” and will be “in camera.”
All players on the 2018 World Junior Team are currently suspended by Hockey Canada and are ineligible to play, coach, volunteer, or create a Hockey Canada sanctioned program until Hockey Canada’s adjudication committee completes its work. do not have.
The NHL also conducted its own investigation into the 2018 mass sexual assault allegations. The NHL did not respond to a request from CBC News this week for an update on the status of the investigation.
The federal government also announced that it will set up a commission to investigate systematic abuse in sport from 2024.
For anyone who has experienced sexual assault, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services. Government of Canada website or Canadian Society for the Elimination of Violence Database. If you are in immediate danger or if your safety or the safety of others is threatened, call 911.
