Trial begins in former world junior hockey players' sexual assault case
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Prosecutors say a woman felt she had no choice but to go along with what a group of hockey players told her to do inside a London, Ont., hotel room nearly seven years ago.
Jurors weighing the sexual assault case of Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote are hearing for the first time today the detailed allegations against the five players.
The accused, who were part of Canada's 2018 world junior hockey team, have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
McLeod has also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of being a party to the offence of sexual assault.
In her opening remarks to the jury, prosecutor Heather Donkers alleged McLeod started inviting other people into his hotel room after having sex with the complainant in June 2018. The initial sexual encounter is not part of the trial.
Donkers says the woman, who was 20 at the time, was drunk and uncomfortable, and tried to get through the night by doing what she thought the men wanted.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2025.