LONDON, Ontario (AP) – In a high-profile case, a woman testified on Monday that five members of Canada's 2018 World Junior Hockey Team sexually assaulted her in a hotel room seven years ago. The accused players—Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton—were present in London, Ontario, for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their championship at the 2018 World Junior tournament. They were charged with sexual assault last year, and McLeod faces an additional charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault.
The woman recounted the night of the alleged incident, stating that she was naked, intoxicated, and felt scared when four of the men unexpectedly entered her hotel room. She had just had consensual sex with McLeod when two additional men arrived, and she claimed the group behaved in a way that made her uncomfortable. They allegedly asked her to lie down on a bedsheet on the floor and made remarks about sexual acts they wanted her to perform, laughing among themselves during the process. The woman expressed that, in that moment, her mind "just shut down," as she felt she didn't know the men and feared how they might react if she resisted or tried to leave.
Throughout her testimony, she described feeling degraded and disempowered as the men pulled down their pants and pressured her to perform oral sex on them. She also described instances where she was physically contacted, with one man even performing a split over her while she lay on the sheet. Despite her protests and attempts to leave the situation, she stated that the men would persuade her to stay, saying, "They kept bringing me back." She further elaborated that when one of the men followed her into the bathroom, put on a condom, and had sex with her, it felt like a continuation of the coercion she had already faced.
Contemplating the emotional aftermath, the woman stated that it wasn't until she left the room that she truly processed what had transpired and the feelings she had been suppressing came flooding back. During the trial, Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia addressed the jurors, instructing them to use evidence from the initial encounter with McLeod to evaluate the credibility of the woman's testimony. This included assessing her interest, level of participation in the events that unfolded, and her state of intoxication.
Justice Carroccia specifically cautioned jurors against making assumptions based on the fact that the woman had willingly left a bar with McLeod and engaged in consensual sex with him. She emphasized that these actions should not be interpreted as indicators that the woman had consented to the subsequent sexual activities involving the other players or that her credibility was compromised as a result.
As all five defendants pleaded not guilty, the case has garnered significant media attention, reflecting broader societal conversations about consent and accountability in sexual assault allegations. The trial continues to unfold, with the court examining the complexities of the events that allegedly took place in June 2018 in London, Ontario.
