On Thursday afternoon, a London, Ontario court found former members of the 2018 Team Canada World Junior team—Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Michael McLeod—not guilty of sexual assault.
McLeod was also acquitted of a second charge related to the same incident from June 2018.
Judge Maria Carrotcha of the Ontario Superior Court delivered the verdict nearly six weeks after the trial concluded.
The trial proceeded without a jury after allegations of misconduct involving the defense team prompted the jury’s dismissal.
The allegations came from a woman, referred to as EM, who claimed that the players assaulted her in a hotel room following their World Junior victory earlier in the year. Her identity remains protected under a public ban in Canada.
Carrotcha stated in her remarks that she found EM to be an unreliable witness. She noted inconsistencies in her testimony, suggesting that EM exaggerated her level of intoxication and had opportunities to leave the situation if she had chosen to do so.
She remarked, “I conclude that I cannot rely on you,” emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding EM’s evidence.
Under Canadian law, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that nonconsensual sexual contact occurred. For all defendants, except Foote, the crux of the case revolved around the issue of consent.
Carrotcha mentioned, “I discovered that I cannot rely on EM’s evidence, and taking into account the evidence from this whole trial, I concluded that the Crown cannot fulfill its responsibility in any number before me.”
As for the players, none participated in the NHL this past season. McLeod and Dube played in the KHL last season, while Hart has been on an indefinite leave from the Flyers since last summer, when his contract expired.
