The high-profile Hockey Canada sexual assault trial in Ontario will proceed with a judge-only decision after Justice Maria Carroccia dismissed the 14-member jury on Friday morning.
Five former NHL players are standing trial for a sexual assault charge following an alleged incident in 2018 following a celebration for Team Canada’s gold medal in the IIHF World Junior Championship. The case centers on whether the woman alleging assault, identified only as E.M. due to a publication ban under Canadian law, gave or was able to give consent to the defendants.
A juror told Carroccia on Thursday that multiple members of the jury believed two of the defense attorneys were judging and laughing at them. Carroccia dismissed jurors the next morning without an explanation, and she alone will now determine the outcome. This is the second jury dismissal in the trial; Carroccia previously declared a mistrial during the first week of proceedings without a given reason.
The juror’s note that preceded the dismissal read: “Multiple jury members feel we are being judged and made fun of by lawyers (Daniel) Brown and Hilary Dudding. Every day when we enter the courtroom they observe us, whisper to each other and turn to each other and laugh as if they are discussing our appearance. This is unprofessional and unacceptable.” The defense lawyers in question denied this behavior, calling the situation an “unfortunate misinterpretation.”
Dillon Dubé, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, and Michael McLeod are the five players accused of wrongdoing by the Crown. All five players, who have pleaded not guilty, are facing one count of sexual assault with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison; McLeod is facing an additional count of being party to the offense, which could come with additional sentencing if he is convicted.
Also on Thursday, 134 text messages among players from 2018, sent shortly after the alleged incident, were read aloud in court. The group chat showed players discussing how to handle a potential investigation. “We all need to say the same thing if we get interviewed can’t have different stories or make anything up,” McLeod sent.
E.M. testified that she had consensual sex with McLeod in a London, Ont. hotel room before more of his teammates entered and sexually assaulted her. She testified the men forced her to give them oral sex, threatened her with golf clubs, stopped her from leaving, had penetrative sex with her, and made her record a video saying she gave her consent. The defense attorneys have suggested E.M. wanted to have a “wild night” with multiple men, which she has denied.
Hockey Canada and London police launched investigations into the incident before dropping them without charges in February 2019. In 2022, she settled a $3.5 million civil lawsuit with Hockey Canada, which sparked outrage and led both entities to reopen their investigation. London police announced charges in 2024 and publicly apologized to the woman.
Throughout the trial, multiple players who are not accused of wrongdoing, including current members of teams that competed in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, have been called to testify. This week, former professional hockey player Tyler Steenbergen testified that he went into the hotel room because he heard there was food, and said 10 people were in the room. He said he saw Dubé slap E.M. on the buttocks, among other things. He said both Dubé and Foote called him ahead of his investigation interview with Hockey Canada.
