London Police news conference set for 2pm ET, coverage available on TSN
Published
The London Police Service will hold a news conference Monday afternoon to provide updates about an investigation stemming from an alleged sexual assault following a Hockey Canada golf and gala event held in the Ontario city in June of 2018.
Coverage of the London Police News Conference will begin at 1:45pm et/10:45am pt on TSN4, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Lawyers for five players from Canada’s 2018 World Junior team – current NHL players Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Dillon Dube, and former Ottawa Senator Alex Formenton – have confirmed their clients have been charged with sexual assault in connection with the investigation. They have also denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients and said they will plead not guilty. McLeod is facing an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence.”
The complainant, a woman referred to as E.M. in court documents, met some of the players at a downtown bar following the event. She has alleged in a civil lawsuit that she left the bar with one man and had consensual sex with him. That man then invited other players to his room, without E.M.’s consent, to have sex with E.M., she alleged.
None of the allegations against the players have been proven. The case is set to have its first appearance in a London court on Monday morning.
London police initially investigated E.M.’s allegations before closing the case in February 2019 without laying charges because the lead detective didn’t believe there was enough evidence.
In May 2022, TSN reported Hockey Canada had – without consulting any players involved in the alleged incident – quietly settled a $3.55-million lawsuit brought by E.M. against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed players in connection to the alleged attack.
The story led to parliamentary hearings and a maelstrom of public backlash. The NHL and Hockey Canada commissioned investigations and the London police in July of 2022 said they would re-open the investigation.