from Rick Westhead of TSN,
Content Warning: The following article contains references to sexual assault.
Four National Hockey League players – Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, and Cal Foote – have been directed to surrender to police in London, Ont., to be charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged incident that occurred during a Hockey Canada event in the city in June 2018, two sources familiar with the matter told TSN.
The players are expected to surrender before the London Police Service holds a press conference on Monday to update the public on the high-profile case.
Lawyers for the four players either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment.
The Globe and Mail reported on Jan. 24 that London police have instructed five members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior team to surrender to be charged with sexual assault. Former Ottawa Senators player Alex Formenton, who currently plays in Switzerland, reported to police on Jan. 28 to be officially charged.
Shame on Hockey Canada. Hockey over all eh?
the flames saying they had no idea is fucking garbage. how did you not know? this is pathetic.
If what has been reported is true, then everyone involved should go to jail.
Period.
But, as someone who was a career Detective Supervisor, with the largest PD in the world, for more than 20 years
I urge everyone to take a pause and let the facts come out.
Once again I'll repeat. If a crime is proved, then all of them should go to prison.
Period.
But a few things give me pause.
The fact that two separate investigations resulted in no charges being filed cannot be ignored.
What changed?
What new evidence or facts have come to light?
If you believe that police departments are immune to political pressure then you are sadly mistaken.
The easiest thing for both the PD and the Prosecutors Office to do, is to have them arrested.
If the trial goes bad, then both agencies can say "We did all we could. The system failed".
In reality, it's the way to get out from under the Media storm if they closed the case without any arrests.
I'm certainly not defending these players. Let's make that clear.
What I am saying, is that anyone who is reading this, should be aware of the motivating factors involved.
Sex assault is almost never black and white.
And I can tell you this from experience. I doubt that this woman will ever take the witness stand.
She might be gung-ho right now. But the players have the right to confront her and they most certainly will.
These guys have money and their livelihood (and freedom) are at stake here.
They will hire top notch attorneys (Female, it it was me), who will tear this woman's life apart.
It will get downright ugly
In the end, the only people who will be happy are the Media.
What changed:
the allegations came to the publics attention and couldnt be swept under the rug.
With a career in law enforcement you should understand that certain crimes are buried: officers DUIs for example. But when those allegations are made public they cant be.
hockey Canada had such power.
sexual assault from victims that couldnt consent are treated much differently than 10 years ago as well.
hope that answers what changed
DCA Don't misunderstand me. I talking about evidence here when I asked "What changed"?
Was something new discovered? Perhaps a video or photo.
Did a witness come forward. ( another player perhaps?)
Did a person confess and name names?
We don't know any of this, which is why I said to let the facts play out.
And I certainly am not defending anyone.
I've seen these victims up close. My allegiance is with them
I'm telling you what happens on the inside of such investigations.
You might not like it, but it's the truth.
FYI, the Athletics Dan Robson just wrote an article on what changed.
As scrutiny grew over how Hockey Canada handled the sexual assault allegations, the London Police Service reopened its investigation in July 2022.
Details of what occurred that night in London became public as media attention zeroed in. For reporters, it wasnt difficult to find first-hand accounts of members of the World Junior team plying young women with alcohol at a bar and attempting to bring them back to the Delta Armouries Hotel. Photos and videos of the night were easy to find. Through those images, videos, and sources who interacted with players on that night it was possible to piece together a timeline of who was where and when. Lawyers representing some of the players approached media with two videos taken from a room in the Delta Armouries hotel, which reportedly show the alleged victim stating that she consented to what had occurred. Text messages were also revealed in which a player asks the woman whether she had gone to the police.
The player then searched out the woman on Instagram, asked if shed called the police and pressured her to make the complaint go away.
youd have been better off not posting any of that. you definitely sound like youre defending these guys.
shes come this far. unless theres a deal, id bet shes going to stare them right in the face and tell what she knows to a jury.
the system will decide their guilt or innocence. nothing else needs to be said.
It doesn't sound like he is defending them one bit. He's just pointing out some of the realities of the justice system.
It's my belief that she will take the or their case becomes much weaker. It will get ugly.
We'll have to wait and see what evidence is presented. I'll save any judgment until I see/hear that. If they are guilty, they should see jail time.
Lol oh come on.
Maybe it's time to dissolve Hockey Canada and fold them into USA Hockey and rebrand it as North American Hockey Association or something similar.
Even if all those guys are found innocent (which won't happen), Hockey Canada still dragged its feet on this whole thing. And I hope the NHLPA stays 100% out of it.
You can bet that all the lawyers will get together with "the boys club" and make sure they all say exactly the same thing. I don't think they care about the young woman's life at all. It's all about money that they may lose. It's a culture of when something like this happens, it's the girl's fault....she wanted it....she never said no....she liked it when it was happening....it wasn't me, I didn't do anything wrong.
I had been around sports(hockey) a lot of my life and been in many a locker rooms, the talk and actions that goes on has been around for a long time. Because no one wants to "ruin a hockey player's life" people turn a blind eye because in a way the players are fulfilling what they couldn't do. A city, and this case a country's identity is through those players or that team.
McLeod got an extra charge- "a party to the offense "..........
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