Content warning: This story includes allegations of sexual assault.
LONDON, Ont. — After seven dynamic weeks in court, the prosecution and defense have concluded presenting evidence and calling witnesses in the trial where five former NHL players face charges stemming from an alleged 2018 sexual assault.
On June 9, the five main lawyers representing the accused individuals are set to begin presenting their closing arguments. Before this next phase of the trial commences, it`s a fitting time to review the crucial events that have shaped the proceedings so far and anticipate what will follow.
Timeline of Events
JUNE 2018
June 17-19: Members of the Canadian world junior men’s and sledge hockey teams gather in London, Ont., for a gala event celebrating their gold medal victories.
June 18-19: An alleged sexual assault involving E.M., the complainant whose identity is protected by a publication ban, occurs in Room 209 of the Delta Armouries hotel in London.
June 19: E.M.`s mother and her partner contact London Police Service and Hockey Canada to report an incident at the Delta Armouries. Glen McCurdie, then Hockey Canada’s vice-president of insurance and risk management, calls lawyer Danielle Robitaille of Henein Hutchison. McCurdie officially reports the incident to the London police.
June 22: LPS Detective Stephen Newton interviews E.M.
June 30-July 11: Robitaille conducts interviews with 10 of the 19 players from the 2018 world juniors team as part of her internal investigation.
Sept. 14: While awaiting E.M.’s participation, Robitaille provides an “interim report” to Hockey Canada.
Nov. 17: Det. Newton interviews Michael McLeod in person.
Nov. 24: Newton interviews Alex Formenton in person.
Dec. 18: Newton interviews Dillon Dube via conference call.
FEBRUARY 2019
Feb. 7: Newton closes the LPS investigation, citing insufficient grounds for charges.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Robitaille concludes her investigation for Hockey Canada.
APRIL 2022
April 20: A settlement claim is submitted to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, requesting $3.55 million in damages for the plaintiff. The lawsuit names Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed “John Doe” players.
MAY 2022
May 26: A report by TSN’s Rick Westhead reveals Hockey Canada settled a civil lawsuit with a woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by eight men, including members of the 2018 Canadian men’s world junior team, following an event in London honouring the team in June 2018.
The NHL launches its own investigation into the incident.
JUNE 2022
June 20: A Parliamentary committee begins hearings into Hockey Canada’s operations and its handling of the investigation. Executives Tom Renney and Scott Smith provide testimony.
June 22: Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge suspends Hockey Canada’s federal funding.
JULY 2022
July 14: Hockey Canada, through Robitaille, reopens its investigation and mandates that all players from the 2018 team must cooperate or face bans from future sanctioned events.
July 18: The Canadian Press reports that Hockey Canada used minor hockey fees for a fund covering uninsured liabilities, including sexual assault claims.
July 19: Hockey Canada announces it will cease using this fund for such claims.
July 22: LPS reopens its investigation, with Det. Lyndsey Ryan appointed as the new lead investigator.
July 22: Police state they are investigating allegations of a group sexual assault by Canadian world junior players at the 2003 tournament in Halifax. This investigation is ongoing.
July 26: Robitaille testifies before the Parliamentary committee, confirming E.M. agreed to participate in the reopened investigation. Robitaille does not disclose the names of the eight John Does.
July 27: Smith informs the Parliamentary committee that Hockey Canada had paid $8.9 million to settle 21 sexual misconduct lawsuits. In the following days, numerous sponsors pause or terminate their sponsorships with Hockey Canada.
OCTOBER 2022
Oct. 1-18: Robitaille interviews McLeod, Dube, and Formenton.
Oct. 13: Smith resigns from his position as CEO, and Hockey Canada`s entire board of directors steps down.
NOVEMBER 2022
Robitaille submits her second completed report to Hockey Canada, which has not been publicly released.
JULY 2023
July 4: Katherine Henderson, previously CEO of Curling Canada, is appointed the new CEO and president of Hockey Canada.
NOVEMBER 2023
Nov. 14: Hockey Canada announces it is appealing the findings of Robitaille’s report.
JANUARY 2024
Jan. 28, 30: The players are formally charged: McLeod faces two counts of sexual assault, including one related to aiding the offense. Dube, Formenton, Cal Foote, and Carter Hart are each charged with one count of sexual assault.
FEBRUARY 2024
Feb. 2: The NHL concludes its investigation. Both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh state they will await the outcome of the criminal proceedings before taking action.
Feb. 5: LPS chief Thai Truong offers an apology to E.M. during a media conference “for the amount of time that it has taken” to lay charges.
NOVEMBER 2024
Nov. 28: Justice Bruce Thomas, the judge presiding over pre-trial matters, rules that the second Hockey Canada investigation — which included interviews with players and E.M. conducted by Robitaille — is inadmissible for the trial.
APRIL 2025
Justice Maria Carroccia, a former defense attorney from Windsor, Ont., is appointed as the trial judge.
April 22: The trial commences. Charges are read in court before the accused for the first time. All defendants enter pleas of not guilty. Jury selection begins.
April 25: Carroccia declares a mistrial just one day into the proceedings, citing concerns about potential jury tainting after a defense lawyer and a juror unexpectedly encountered each other at a local market during a lunch break.
April 28: The trial recommences with a new jury.
April 30: Text messages from a group chat among players who were in Room 209, the location of the alleged assault in June 2018, are presented as evidence. A notable pair of consecutive texts from McLeod reads: “Who wants to be in a 3 way quick” signed “209- mikey.”
April 30: Taylor Raddysh, the first team member to testify, appears via Zoom from Virginia and states he was not in the room for an extended period and, “I don’t have any recollection of what I saw in that room.”
MAY 2025
May 2: Boris Katchouk testifies via Zoom from Pennsylvania, stating he was in Room 209 for only a few minutes and did not interact with a woman lying on a bed before leaving.
May 2: E.M. testifies via CCTV from a separate room in the courthouse, marking the first of her nine days on the stand. She testifies that she consumed 12 alcoholic drinks over the course of the night.
May 5: E.M. testifies that following consensual sex with McLeod, she was sexually assaulted and felt her safety was at risk due to the number of players present. She recounts that the players discussed sexually assaulting her with a golf club. She also testifies that she does not recall the recording of two cellphone videos where she appears to give consent. She states, “I’m saying what they’re wanting me to say. … I don’t think it reflected how I was feeling.”
May 7: E.M. testifies that she was not a willing participant in the events of that night: “Feeling like I was completely out of my body, I didn`t feel like I was an active participant when I was that numb,” she tells the court. Following intense cross-examination by Hart’s lawyer near the end of the day, E.M. becomes visibly distressed and cries.
May 14: E.M.`s final day on the stand. She testifies that during her participation in the civil lawsuit, she understood that no players` names would be publicly revealed.
May 14-17: Former player Tyler Steenbergen testifies from Alberta that Foote and Dube each called him, asking him not to disclose to Hockey Canada investigators what he had witnessed them doing on June 19, 2018. Steenbergen says he “partially” saw Foote perform the splits over E.M. and Dube slap her buttocks: “It wasn’t hard, but it didn’t seem soft either.”
May 16: The second jury is dismissed after a juror submits a note to Carroccia alleging members of the Formenton defense team were mocking the jurors as they entered the courtroom. The defense successfully argues for the trial to proceed as judge-only.
May 20-22: Brett Howden testifies from Las Vegas. His recollection of prior statements and evidence is repeatedly challenged by the Crown, leading to him being treated essentially as a hostile witness. Howden becomes emotional and cries after being questioned by defense lawyer Lisa Carnelos about recounting the incident to his girlfriend, now his wife.
May 26: Carroccia rules for the second consecutive day that text messages exchanged between Howden and Raddysh are inadmissible. The core of the issue involves texts where Howden told Raddysh he saw Dube striking “the girl’s (butt) so hard, it looked like it hurt so bad.”
May 27: Howden concludes his testimony by denying to defense lawyer Julianna Greenspan that he was attempting to minimize his involvement in the incident. A video of the London police interview with McLeod is shown. Notably, McLeod states in the interview that he checked “five times” throughout the night to ensure E.M. was okay and denies that anyone sent a text message inviting players to the room for sex.
May 28: A video of the police interview with Formenton is shown. The audio recording of Newton’s phone interview with Dube is also played for the court. Neither interview mentions E.M. being struck on the buttocks. Newton also testifies that he was unaware of a group chat where players discussed the incident.
May 29: The prosecution concludes its case. Hart takes the stand, being the sole accused individual to testify. He asserts that his sexual contact with E.M. was consensual, that he observed E.M. and Formenton holding hands as they went to the bathroom together, and that he would not have tolerated any “disrespectful” actions towards the woman. Hart is repeatedly challenged by the Crown regarding his memory of the events.
June 2: Lawyers for the defense state they have no further witnesses to call or evidence to introduce. The Crown has no additional questions.
What’s Next
June 9: All five principal defense lawyers will begin presenting their closing arguments in the case. Following their submissions, the Crown will present its closing arguments. After these presentations, Justice Carroccia will inform the court when she expects to deliver her findings and ruling. The exact date is anticipated to be sometime after this, with expectations that the defense will advocate for a decision sooner rather than later.
Editor’s note
If you or someone you know is in need of support, those in Canada can find province-specific centres, crisis lines and services by searching online. For readers in the United States, a list of resources and references for survivors and their loved ones can also be found through online searches.
