FAQ: London Police’s 2018 Team Canada sexual assault investigation
The London Police Service held a press conference in London, Ontario, on Monday to discuss their investigation of an alleged 2018 sexual assault by members of Team Canada’s World Junior Championship gold medal-winning team. London Chief of Police Thai Truong and Detective Sergeant Katherine Dann issued statements and answered questions from the media for approximately 45 minutes.
Here are answers to a series of Frequently Asked Questions by readers and hockey fans:
Q: What did we learn on Monday?
A: London Police formally announced charges against four current NHL players and one former NHL player. Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, New Jersey Devils defenseman Cal Foote, Calgary Flames forward Dillon Dube and Ottawa Senators reserve list player Alex Formenton were all charged with one count of sexual assault.
Q: Why was Michael McLeod charged with an additional crime?
New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod was charged with one count of sexual assault “for his own actions,” according to Det/Sgt. Dann, as well as a second charge for “being a party to the offense,” which Det/Sgt. Dann referred to as “aiding” the sexual assault. Dann could not provide any additional details.
Q: Did we learn anything new about the alleged sexual assault?
A: No. The London Police Service did not provide any details or so-called narrative that led them to lay charges. Chief Truong called it a “lengthy, complex process” and said details could not be discussed because it would “compromise the process” as the matter is “now before the court.” Unlike in the United States when an indictment is filed or a police report is released which details the allegations, in this case, the London Police Service has decided to keep those details shrouded.
Q: Why did the London Police Service wait nearly six years to lay charges?
A: That question also remained mostly unanswered. London Police conducted their original investigation from June 2018 through Feb. 2019 and felt there were “insufficient grounds to lay a charge,” they said on Monday. In July 2022, shortly after reporting revealed Hockey Canada moved quickly to settle a $3.55 million civil suit, London Police ordered that the investigation be re-opened to “re-examine investigative steps.” London Police said this resulted in “one investigation, not two,” meaning that they picked up the old case and then uncovered “some information that was not available” in 2018/2019. London Police issued a “sincere” apology to the victim, saying, “why it took so long will form part of the proceedings.”
Q: Did the alleged victim cooperate in the London Police investigation?
A: Yes. London Police said the alleged victim, identified in press reports as E.M., “fully participated” in the investigation. A statement read aloud from the alleged victim’s attorney said she “wanted to see it through,” based on her original complaint made to police the day after the alleged assault occurred in 2018. Unlike in the United States, the police and Crown in Canada choose to lay charges, not the individual involved in the case. At the time the alleged victim’s civil suit was settled by Hockey Canada, the London Police Service had already closed the investigation in the case against her, and it was not her choice (though she cooperated) to re-open it.
Q: In the reporting from the civil suit, the alleged victim said that as many as eight members of the World Junior team were in the room at the time of the alleged assault. Why have only five players been charged?
A: Det/Sgt. Dann said on Monday that London Police have “laid all the charges we have grounds for” and declined to answer if or when any additional charges may be laid.
Q: How long will this case take to reach a conclusion?
A: Canadian law dictates that the accused have a right to a case to be concluded in a “reasonable” period of time, which may be as long as 30 months from the date charges are laid. Ontario court continues to dig out from a backlog of cases that piled up during the pandemic, and the court will decide which cases it will hear and when. Many legal experts in Ontario believe the case will be tried sometime in late 2025 at the earliest, likely in 2026.
Q: What are the conditions of the arrest granted to the five players?
A: The London Police Service did not reveal details of the “undertakings,” which are designed to protect the alleged victim during the process. All five players are likely to have been ordered to not contact the alleged victim. It remains unclear whether the players have been ordered to remand their Canadian passports, whether they are permitted to enter the United States, or whether they were ordered to post bail or bond.
Q: Did Hockey Canada have anything to say after Monday’s press conference?
A: Yes. Hockey Canada issued a statement saying it has “cooperated fully” with the London Police Service investigation. An unknown party filed an appeal against Hockey Canada’s independent adjudicative investigation in Nov. 2023 into whether or not members of the team breached the organization’s code of conduct and what sanctions should be imposed against those players. On Monday, Hockey Canada said “pending the completion of the appeal process, all players from the 2018 National Junior Team remain suspended by Hockey Canada, and are ineligible to play, coach, officiate or volunteer with Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs.”
Q: What role did the NHL play in the London Police investigation?
A: Det/Sgt. Dann said the concurrent NHL and Hockey Canada investigations added “complexities” to London’s investigation. Dann also said that she had not spoken to anyone from the NHL in “a number of months.”
Q: What is the status of the four NHL players?
A: All four current NHL players (McLeod, Hart, Foote and Dube) took leaves of absence from their teams. They continue to receive their full salaries. Those teams were notified on Monday that they will receive salary cap relief as a result of those leaves of absence. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last Friday at All-Star weekend that the league would not comment further or act until after the judicial process was complete. However, it remains unclear what would happen if the four NHL players chose to end their leaves of absence and attempted to return to their teams to play. Bettman pointed out that the contracts of all four players expire at the end of this season and would become free agents.
Q: What’s next?
A: A court hearing was held on Monday with legal representatives from all five players present. The justice of the peace in London, Ontario, ordered a publication ban on the identity of the alleged victim and two witnesses. Monday also marked the beginning of disclosure, in which the government must turn over evidence to the attorneys of the players. That will include disclosure of text messages and video files. The next hearing is scheduled for April 30.