July 24th, 2025, 11:54am
LONDON, Ontario – An Ontario judge acquitted five former members of Canada’s World Junior Hockey Team on Thursday in a sexual assault case, saying the petitioner’s claim lacked the credibility necessary to justify the charges.
Superior Court Judge Maria Carrotcha said prosecutors could not meet liability for the evidence of the charges against Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foot.
All five players had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in a encounter that took place in a hotel room in London, Ontario, early June 19, 2018. A year of speculation about the allegations – a revival of lawsuit settlement, parliamentary hearings, and a revival of police and hockey Canada investigations – an NHL investigation that extended the mistake earlier this year. Verdict on Caroci.
Carotia detailed the inference of an acquittal for five hours, highlighting the complainant’s “inclination to blame others” for the inconsistency in the allegations.
Carocia also said the woman went “a big length” and pointed out that she was really drunk in the middle of the night, but that was not supported by surveillance videos at the bar and hotel and other people’s testimony.
McLeod was also not guilty on another count of being a party to the crime – and pleaded not guilty. This is an unusual application of the accusations that are more common in murder cases.
Alex Formenton, one of five former world junior hockey players who pleaded guilty to sexual assault allegedly committed in 2018, arrived at London Courthouse in London, Ontario on Thursday. Coleburston/Getty Images
The player, currently between the ages of 25 and 27, was in London at the time, with gala and golf tournaments recording championship victory.
The woman testified in May that she was naked, drunk and scared when four men unexpectedly appeared in a room in the London Armory at the Delta Hotel and felt that the only “safe” option was to do what they wanted. Prosecutors alleged that players did what they wanted without taking any steps to ensure she voluntarily agrees to sexual conduct.
“I chose to dance with them and drink at the bar. I didn’t choose to let them do what I did in the hotel,” she testified.
The defense attorney cross-examined her for days and suggested that she actively participated or started sexual activity as she wanted a “wild night.” Two short videos of the petitioner, filmed by McLeod on the night of the encounter, were made in court. For one, the woman says it’s “all agreed upon,” but she told the court that it wasn’t the way she really felt.
Protesters gathered outside the packed London court on Thursday morning and held signs showing support for the petitioner.
The Associated Press does not identify the alleged victim of sexual assault unless the accuser has given her permission to do so, but she does not have one.
The public had not known the allegations for years. Police ended their initial investigation in early 2019 without charges, but the complainant sued Hockey Canada in 2022. The organization settled the lawsuit amid the intense scrutiny it sponsored, but police resumed the investigation.
The player’s identity was made public when he was indicted in early 2024. At the time, the four played in the NHL – Dube for the Calgary Flames, Heart for the Philadelphia Flyers, and McLeod and Foot for the New Jersey Devils. Formenton previously played for Senator Ottawa before joining the Swiss team. Everyone is on indefinite leave, no one is on the NHL roster, and they have not signed aggressive contracts with teams in the league.
The NHL began its own investigation in 2022. Authorities pledged to release the findings, but Commissioner Gary Bettman said in February that he would rely on the league saying it was given legal proceedings.
