This is the only reasonable outcome from this trial. As much as I prefer to be on the side of the victim, the men could hardly be expected to reject the victim's willingness to go along with the gang sex.
World junior trial: Players found not guilty in high-profile sex assault case
Five members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team accused of sexual assault have all been found not guilty, an Ontario judge has ruled.
Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia delivered her decision inside a London, Ont., courtroom Thursday in the high-profile trial of Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote.
“In this case, I have found actual consent not vitiated by fear. I do not find the evidence of E.M. to be either credible or reliable,” said Carroccia of the female complainant, known as E.M. in court documents as her identity is protected under a standard publication ban.
“With respect to the charges before this court, having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial on the whole, I conclude the Crown can not meet its onus on any of the counts before me,” added Carroccia, who prompted tears from some family members of the accused in the courtroom.
The five men have been on trial since late April — accused of engaging in non-consensual group sex with a then-20-year-old woman in June 2018. All five men pleaded not guilty to sexual assault; McLeod also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault, which Carroccia ruled him as not guilty of committing.
After reading the decision, Global News witnessed the players smiling and hugging their legal teams. Earlier in the proceeding, family members of the accused were also witnessed by Global News hugging each other when Carroccia spoke about E.M.’s credibility.
Court heard the team was in London for events marking its gold-medal performance at that year’s championship, and that the complainant was out with friends when they met at a downtown bar on June 18, 2018.
After being with McLeod and his teammates at the bar, E.M. would go on to have consensual sex with McLeod in his room in the early morning hours of June 19. Court has heard that E.M., who testified she was drunk and not of clear mind, was in the washroom after she had sex with McLeod and came out to a group of men in the room allegedly invited by McLeod in the group chat.
It was then that the Crown alleged several sexual acts took place without E.M.’s consent.
“Much has been made in this case about the concept of consent,” said Carroccia, who read her decision for close to five hours on Thursday.
“This case, on its facts, does not raise issues of the reformulation of the legal concept of consent.”
Defence lawyers suggested E.M. wasn’t as drunk as she has testified she was, wanted a “wild night” with the players and was “egging” them on to have sex with her, and accused her of having a “clear agenda” at the trial.
E.M. pushed back against those claims and at points outright rejected them, saying she was coaxed into staying in the room and was disrespected and taken advantage of by the group, who she said “could see I was out of my mind.”
E.M. was recorded on two cellphone videos in which she said everything was consensual; the Crown argued those videos were not evidence of consent, but Carroccia said Thursday E.M did not display any signs of intoxication and was speaking “clearly and coherently.”
When reading out her analysis, Carroccia said there were “troubling aspects” regarding E.M.’s evidence. On several occasions, she referred to it as “her truth” and not “the truth,” which Carroccia said “seemingly blurs the line between what she believes to be true and what is objectively true.”
“Although the slogan, ‘Believe the victim,’ has become popularized as late, it has no place in a criminal trial. To approach a trial with the assumption that the complainant is telling the truth is the equivalent of imposing a presumption of guilt on the person accused of sexual assault and then placing the burden on him to prove his innocence,” she said.
“That is antithetical to the fundamental principles of justice enshrined in our constitution and the values underlying our free and democratic society.”
What happened during the trial
It initially started as a jury trial, but just a few days in, a mistrial was declared out of concern about a tainted jury after a juror accused Hillary Dudding, one of Formenton’s lawyers, of initiating conversation while in line for lunch.
Dudding denied this and said any contact with the juror was inadvertent.
The trial resumed the following week with a new jury. They would go on to watch videos of the complainant taken by McLeod, hear from then-teammate Taylor Raddysh about a group chat screenshot he took capturing talk of a “3 way” sent by McLeod, and hear from E.M. herself.
The now-27-year-old woman was subject to intense cross-examination during her nine days on the stand, which Carroccia said Thursday was “entirely appropriate” given the length and barrage of evidence at the trial.
After E.M. finished her testimony, then-teammate Tyler Steenbergen took the stand as a Crown witness, but his testimony was halted just two days in.
Court received a note from a juror stating they believed Formenton’s lawyers, Dudding and Dan Brown, would “turn to each other and laugh as if they are discussing our appearance” when the jury was entering the room.
Carroccia said she was concerned this could impact some jurors’ ability to fairly decide the case and that it could have a chilling effect on the defence lawyers. Brown and Dudding called the juror’s note an “unfortunate misinterpretation” and said “the very idea of counsel making light of a juror is illogical and runs directly counter to our purpose and function.”
Carroccia went on to dismiss that jury, and the trial would go on by judge alone.
Eventually, court would go on to hear from police officers involved in the initial case in 2018 — and the renewed case in 2022 — and other players from that year’s team.
Vegas Golden Knights forward Brett Howden came under intense questioning during his time on the stand, and at one point briefly broke down in tears.
He teared up as he described feeling scared and nervous after learning Hockey Canada had launched an investigation into the encounter and realizing he would have to explain the situation to his parents and his girlfriend, now his wife.
Howden was accused by the Crown of feigning memory loss on details that could be damaging to his friends — which Carroccia ruled was unfounded — and faced questions in a voir dire over a text conversation the Crown wanted to introduce as evidence due to his lack of memory.
That conversation, which Crown prosecutors described as “critical,” was not admitted as evidence after Carroccia ruled against it twice.
Only Hart would testify at the trial, while the other players’ lawyers cited evidence and police interviews that had already been played in court as part of the reasons why their clients were reserving their right not to testify.
Hart testified in part that E.M. was asking the players to have sex with her, and he chose to ask for oral sex because he did not want to have intercourse. He said it was “consensual” and brief because it was “weird.”
Hart would agree with Crown prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham under cross-examination that he was “putting a lot of faith in your friend, Mr. McLeod, to set something up that was morally acceptable to you.”
During closing submissions, defence lawyers called the trial “historic” and repeatedly attacked E.M.’s credibility, saying she “created a lie” out of regret and embarrassment, and that throughout the night, her “communication of consent is overwhelming.”
Meanwhile, the Crown urged the judge to convict the men, with prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham arguing the men were “reckless” for engaging in group sex with E.M. and not seeking her affirmative consent.
Cunningham said E.M. was a credible witness because she was abundantly fair in the trial, clear and concise, not resentful and confirmatory. She argued that many defence submissions on E.M.’s behaviour are based on assumptions about how someone in her situation would act.
— with files from Sawyer Bogdan, Caryn Lieberman and Jeff Semple
Alberta football coach accused of using AI to make child pornography: ALERT
A junior girl’s football coach in Lethbridge has been accused by police of using artificial intelligence to create child pornography.
The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams ICE unit said the coach has been charged with multiple child sexual exploitation offences.
Justin Tillery was arrested by ALERT on July 16 with help from the Lethbridge Police Service. Tillery is a coach with both the Lethbridge Rams and Football Alberta U18 team women’s teams in the southern Alberta city.
Police allege the accused used AI to manipulate and sexualize photos of underage girls.
ICE believes the the images were being shared via a social media messaging app called Kik. The app is used primarily through username-based accounts rather than phone numbers and known for features like anonymous chatting.
While the investigation dates back to November 2024, ALERT said the accused was only recently identified as the suspect.
ICE said its investigation is ongoing and investigators are in the process of attempting to identify possible victims.
A number of computers and electronic devices were seized from the home of the accused and are being analyzed by forensic investigators.
“We can recognize how these allegations will impact athletes, parents, and the football community,” said ALERT ICE Staff Sgt. Mark Auger.
Tillery has been charged with making, distributing, possessing, and accessing child pornography, along with transmitting an intimate image without consent.
He has been released from custody on a number of court-imposed conditions, including those that would prevent him from coaching anyone under 18.
Tillery is scheduled to appear in a court in Lethbridge court on August 8.
ALERT is an Alberta government agency that investigates serious and organized crime, staffed with officers from police forces across the province.
Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact local police or Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-TIPS).
