Police in London, Ontario began a press conference on Feb. 5 with an apology. “I want to extend on behalf of the London Police service my sincerest apology to the victim, to her family for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point,” said Chief Thai Truong. He was addressing the victim of a six year old sexual assault case that finally has a resolution.
In July 2018 the Canadian Men’s Junior Hockey team attended a fundraising banquet for Hockey Canada. The next day Hockey Canada was contacted by the stepfather of a woman who had attended the banquet. He alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by eight members of the World Juniors team. Hockey Canada then contacted London police and both began investigating.
The police investigation was closed in February of 2019 and in September of 2020 Hockey Canada closed their investigation too with no suspects or even persons of interest. The case then lay dormant for two years until April of 2022 when the woman (identified as E.M.) filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada and the eight players.
The lawsuit was settled privately out of court and once again the case disappeared from headlines. While the investigation wasn’t in the headlines, Hockey Canada still was as they began to undergo leadership and organizational changes. In June of 2022 their federal funding was paused as an investigation began into accusations of abuse against the organization. The CEO resigned and many major sponsors such as Tim Hortons and ScotiaBank pulled their funding. Many speculate that these changes were related to Hockey Canada’s treatment of the victim and lack of transparency surrounding the case.
Another issue within the organization was the use of their National Equity fund. Every year players paid dues that went into this fund. In July of 2022 it was revealed that this fund had been used to pay millions of dollars in sexual assault settlements since 1990. After this was announced Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned this use of funding and players also began to distance themselves from the 2018 team releasing statements saying they were not involved in the case and hoped a resolution would be found. During this period the National Hockey League was also first informed of the incident.
In July of 2022 the Scott Smith took over as CEO of Canada and promptly announced the organization was reopening their investigation into the sexual assault. Then in December of the same year London police say they believe that a woman was assaulted by five members of the 2018 World Juniors team. It is unclear if the investigation was reopened due to leadership changes or because new evidence became available, but either way the case finally began to move forward again.
In late January four NHL players abruptly took a leave of absence from their respective teams citing mental health or giving no reason for their decision. Many began to speculate that there was some connection to the case as they were all members of the 2018 team. Later that month London Police announced they would be holding a press conference on Feb. 5 to reveal new developments in the case. When that day finally came many tuned in curious to see a potential resolution to a six-year-long case. London police announced they were charging Dillion Dube of the Calgary Flames, Carter Hart of Philadelphia Flyers goalie, and Micheal Mcleod and Cal Foote who both played for the New Jersey Devils, and former NHL player Alex Foreman with one count each of sexual assault. Lawyers for all five players have said that they are not guilty and on Feb. 28 the players requested a jury trial.
While disappointing that the case took so long to reach a conclusion it is promising that authorities never gave up. The case also highlights a promising turn in holding everyone accountable regardless of the societal standings. Following the #metoo movement there has been added scrutiny on all reports of sexual assault, which, in cases such as this one, has been extremely beneficial in holding all involved accountable. The added pressure from major sponsors of Hockey Canada also highlights a promising shift in the culture surrounding sexual assault. As people and corporations as a whole begin to put pressure on law enforcement to investigate cases fully, the culture of abuse that exists in sports will begin to shift to one that believes women and searches for the truth.
