Hockey Canada scandal, what happened and why is the police apologizing?

Five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team have been charged with sexual assault following an investigation into an incident that took place in London, Ontario in June 2018.

The incident occurred following the Hockey Canada Foundation Gala & Golf event in London where members of the World Juniors side was celebrating their win. Following a night of drinking, team members returned to their hotel with a woman (who has remained unnamed) they had met at a local bar. She says that up to eight members of the team sexually assaulted her, per reporting from The Athletic.

According to The Athletic, the night of the assault was a chance for members of the World Juniors winning team to celebrate. This included a 1,000-person gala at RBC Place London where players were seen “drinking heavily,” one attendee was even told she had a “tight a**” in her dress." This was a night that put a group of 18-20-year-olds on a pedestal in the hockey heartland of Canada.

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While initially claiming there were eight players involved in the assault, so far only five have been charged. They are: Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton, all bar Formenton have been playing in the NHL.

Per the Associated Press, the woman’s stepfather contacted London police the day after the alleged assault, who contacted Hockey Canada on the same day. Both the police and Hockey Canada opened investigations into what occurred.

Following eight months with very few updates, London police announced they were closing their investigation into the incident, citing “insufficient grounds” to charge any of the accused, as reported by The Guardian.

Hockey Canada continued their investigation for longer, only halting in September 2020.

Almost four years after the event, the woman at the center of the incident pursued legal action against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and the eight players involved, who remain unnamed at this stage, per the Associated Press.

By May of 2022, Hockey Canada had settled the matter out of court, with various figures involved in Canadian sport claiming this was the first time hearing of the incident. This included Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

2022 saw significant changes within Hockey Canada, including mandatory sexual violence and consent training for all members of the high-performance teams. Hockey Canada also committed to stop using their National Equity Fund to settle sexual assault cases. The fund had been set up to cover various safety and wellness initiatives, per the Associated Press.

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2022 also saw Hockey Canada admitting to a parliamentary committee that over $9 million CAD had been paid out to 21 complainants using the National Equity Fund, per reporting by Leyland Cecco of The Guardian.

July 2022 saw London police reopen their investigation into the incident, according to The Guardian, the “immense public scrutiny” of their initial investigation played a part, while London police chief Thai Truong claimed new evidence had come to light. By December of that year, London police believed that a woman had been assaulted by five men.

Nearly 18 months after the investigation was reopened, on January 31st, 2024, charges were formally brought against Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, and Alex Formenton. They have each been charged with sexual assault, with McLeod facing an additional charge of “sexual assault “by being a party to the offence,” per the Associated Press.

The lawyers of all five accused have, “denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients,” per The Guardian, although none have entered a formal plea yet.

Chief Thai Truong spoke in a press conference on February 5th, 2024 where he apologized to the alleged victim, stating, “I want to extend, on behalf of the London police service, my sincerest apology to the [alleged] victim, to her family, for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this point”.

As reported by The Guardian, the next court date is April 30th, in the meantime, the defense will decide if the accused are to be tried together or individually, which leaves open the possibility for either a jury trial or for the trial to be overseen by a judge alone.

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