An alleged group sexual assault involving hockey players may be going to court. Here's what might happen next
The case is expected to boil down to conflicting claims about consent
WARNING: This article contains graphic content and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it
News that five players from Canada's 2018 World Junior team are expected to face sexual assault charges is raising questions about next steps in the high-profile case.
This week, the Globe and Mail reported the players have been given until late next week to surrender to police in London, Ont., where a group sexual assault allegedly unfolded in 2018.
While London Police have declined to comment publicly on the case, they have said they expect to hold a press conference on Feb. 5 about the investigation.
Several players from the 2018 World Junior team requested and were granted leaves of absences this week from NHL and European teams. London Police have not named any accused.
Court filings by London Police show investigators believe the case hinges on the question of consent. The accounts put forward by the alleged victim and the players conflict on that key point.
Former Crown prosecutor Nick Cake says the players "will be arrested, just like anybody else would be arrested."
"Either they can walk into the police station and do that, or ultimately, the police will come and find them," said Cake, now a criminal defence lawyer in London. He is not representing anyone involved in the case.
The accused would then be read their rights and given an opportunity to speak with a lawyer, he said.
"Then, I would imagine, [they would be] released with a court date and some conditions at that point in time," said Cake.
The case
A young woman known to the public only by the initials "E.M." told London police she was sexually assaulted by a group of junior hockey players in a London hotel room in 2018 after a Hockey Canada Foundation Gala and Golf event, according to court filings.
E.M. was 20 years old at the time of the alleged incident. London Police have not released her name.
Court documents revealed in 2022 that London Police believed they had reasonable grounds to accuse five players of sexually assaulting E.M.
Police, Hockey Canada and the NHL have all launched investigations and have not publicly named any of the hockey players allegedly involved. The court filings redacted the names of the accused and referred to them as "player #1-5".
CBC's The Fifth Estate compiled all the statements players from Canada's 2018 World Junior hockey team have made publicly about the alleged sexual assault.
The allegations
E.M. sued eight unnamed hockey players, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Hockey League in April 2022 for more than $3.5 million in damages.
In her statement of claim, E.M. alleged she met one of the players at a local bar in London, where they were drinking. Court filings say E.M. told police she also recalled an "older gentleman" buying rounds for the group and pouring a "Jagerbomb in her mouth." That man praised the player she was with and told E.M. to "take care of him," the court filings said.
E.M. said in her statement of claim that she returned to the player's hotel room and engaged in sexual acts with him.
The statement of claim alleged that at some point, the player allowed seven other hockey players into the room without her "knowledge or consent." The statement of claim also said the men brought "golf clubs with them, knowing it would further frighten and intimidate her."
The statement of claim alleges that, over several hours, the players engaged in a series of degrading sexual acts, including placing their genitals on E.M's face, slapping her buttocks, spitting and ejaculating on her and engaging in vaginal intercourse while she was too intoxicated to consent.
The young woman reported that at some points she was crying and tried to leave the room, but was "directed, manipulated and intimidated into remaining," the statement of claim said.
What the players told police
Court documents written by London Police state E.M. and the players agree in general on what happened during the night of the alleged incident, but disagree on the main issue: consent.
E.M. told police she consented to go to the hotel room with one of the players, but did not consent to the other group of players coming into the room and those alleged sexual acts.
The players interviewed by police didn't see it that way, according to court filings written by police to request search warrants.
London Police said in those court filings that they believe "E.M. did not consent to any of the sexual activity, except for specific sex act(s)" with the first player. E.M. told police in a statement in July 2022 that "I didn't want to do what they were making me do."
"She also described trying to leave on multiple occasions and that the exit to the unit was blocked," wrote London Police Sgt. David Younan, who prepared the court application.
"She described crying. She explained that she needed to retreat to the bathroom to get away on multiple occasions. She was unable to say 'no.' Throughout the encounter she felt disassociated from everything. She was intoxicated."
What the videos show
The court filings written by London Police alleged the player with whom E.M. consented to sexual acts was involved in filming two videos of E.M. in the hotel room in which he asked if she was OK.
In the first clip, which is about six seconds long, E.M. is seen smiling at the beginning of the video. The court filings say E.M. is then seen wiping her eyes and speaking without slurring. The video is "short in duration and difficult to construe context," London Police said in the court filing.
Police confirmed that the player who brought her to the hotel is heard on the recording asking, "Hey, you're OK with this though, right?"
EM: "Yeah."
Male: "You're OK with this?"
EM: "I'm OK way with this."
According to the London Police court filing, E.M. told police she was not aware she was being recorded, she was wiping her eyes because she was overwhelmed, and she believes she was crying.
The second video clip is about 12 seconds long, according to the court filing. The same male voice from the first clip is heard again and E.M. is seen partially covering herself with a white towel. Police included a transcript of the video in the court filing:
Male: "Say it."
E.M: "OK, it was all consensual. Are you recording me?"
Male: "Yeah."
E.M. "K, good. This was all consensual."
Male: "What else?"
E.M: "Would you? You are so paranoid, holy. I enjoyed it, it was fine, it was all consensual. I am so sober, that's why I can't do this right now."
Police said in the court filing that the first player told investigators he "was worried something like this — in reference to the police investigation — would happen."
"The two video clips made by Player #1 were created, according to E.M., to protect against her going to police," wrote Sgt. Younan. "Player #1 even asked her if she was planning on going to the police ... and asked she fix things with police."
The police investigation
London Police originally closed the first investigation into E.M's allegations in February 2019 by concluding that there were no "reasonable grounds to believe sexual assault occurred."
Three years later, after E.M.'s allegations were made public through her lawsuit, and following a public outcry, London Police re-opened the criminal case.
The CBC's Fifth Estate spoke to legal experts who said the first police investigation was "cursory at best."
Hockey Canada contacted the law firm Henein Hutchison Robitaille for legal advice on June 19, 2018, after learning of the allegations. The firm advised Hockey Canada to contact police.
Two days later, according to the law firm, Hockey Canada retained Henein Hutchison Robitaille to conduct a third party investigation to discover the truth and identify any systemic or policy issues.
Hockey Canada then created what it calls an "independent adjudicative panel" to determine if any of the players allegedly involved should face sanctions.
Hockey Canada announced in November the panel had completed its confidential hearing behind closed doors and had issued a final report. But Hockey Canada wouldn't reveal the results, saying that an appeal process was expected to begin "in the near future" that would also be "conducted in-camera."
All players from the 2018 World Junior team are currently suspended by Hockey Canada and are ineligible to play, coach, volunteer or originate any Hockey Canada sanctioned program until Hockey Canada's adjudicative panel completes its work.
The NHL has also conducted its own separate investigation into the 2018 alleged group sexual assault. When asked for a status update on the investigation, the NHL this week did not respond to CBC News' request.
The federal government has also announced a commission to examine systemic abuse in sports starting in 2024.
For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Karen Pauls and Amanda Margison