LONDON, Ontario (BN24) — Five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team were acquitted Thursday in a high-profile sexual assault case, bringing a contentious and yearslong legal battle to a close. The ruling by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia came after a detailed five-hour explanation in which she determined that the prosecution failed to meet the burden of proof required for conviction.
The judge cleared Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote of all charges related to an alleged group sexual assault at a hotel room in London, Ontario, in the early hours of June 19, 2018. Carroccia said the credibility of the complainant’s testimony was insufficient to justify criminal convictions, noting inconsistencies and contradictions in her account, including discrepancies with surveillance footage and witness statements.
“The complainant tended to blame others for contradictions and inconsistencies in her testimony,” Carroccia said, adding that the woman “went to great lengths” to claim she was heavily intoxicated, a claim not corroborated by video evidence or other testimonies.
All five men, aged between 25 and 27, had pleaded not guilty. They were attending a gala and golf event in London that year to celebrate their gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship. At the time charges were filed in early 2024, four of the players were active in the NHL: Dube with the Calgary Flames, Hart with the Philadelphia Flyers, and McLeod and Foote with the New Jersey Devils. Formenton had been playing in Switzerland following his stint with the Ottawa Senators. All five took indefinite leave from professional hockey and currently remain without NHL contracts.
McLeod was also acquitted of a separate charge of being a party to the offense — a rarely used legal application more commonly seen in homicide cases.
The woman testified in May that she was intoxicated, naked, and frightened when four of the men entered her room unexpectedly and said she complied out of fear. “I made the choice to dance with them and drink at the bar. I did not make the choice to have them do what they did back at the hotel,” she told the court.
Prosecutors argued the players acted without confirming whether she was capable of or willing to give consent. However, defense lawyers painted a different picture, asserting that the woman participated willingly and even initiated some of the activity. The court viewed two short video clips recorded by McLeod that night, in which the woman is seen stating the acts were consensual — a statement she later said did not reflect how she truly felt.
Public scrutiny surrounding the case had intensified over several years. The initial police investigation was closed without charges in 2019, but the woman later filed a civil lawsuit against Hockey Canada in 2022, prompting renewed investigations by local police, Hockey Canada, and the National Hockey League. That lawsuit was settled confidentially, triggering a loss of corporate sponsors for the national hockey organization.
Protesters gathered outside the London courthouse on Thursday holding signs in support of the complainant, underscoring the case’s broader societal impact amid ongoing conversations about consent and accountability in sports culture.
The NHL began its own investigation in 2022, vowing transparency. However, Commissioner Gary Bettman has since indicated that the league’s ability to release findings may be limited due to the legal complexities surrounding the case.
The verdict leaves lingering questions about institutional accountability and the future of the players, who remain without contracts and off NHL rosters amid public and professional fallout.
