Alleged victim in 2018 World Juniors case had life threatened during trial!

A lot happened on Friday in the 2018 World Junior trial when Justice Maria Carroccia discharged the jury in the trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team, thanking all 14 one of them and dismissing them, confirming that the trial will now continue by judge alone.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Callan Foote have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in relation to an encounter that took place in a London, Ont., hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod has also pleaded not guilty being a party to the offence of sexual assault. The Crown alleges McLeod, Hart and Dube obtained oral sex from the woman without her consent, and Dube slapped her buttocks while she was engaged in a sexual act with someone else. Defence lawyers for the five players have presented a drastically different narrative of the night.

When the news first emerged, no specific explanation was given to media on why Carroccia found it appropriate to dismiss the jury, though it was later revealed that a juror believed that Alex Formenton’s lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding’s courtroom demeanour was disrespectful of the alleged victim.

The shift to a judge-only trial means arguments, evidence and other information discussed in the absence of the jury can now be disclosed and that’s how we found out that police intercepted someone attempting to get to the alleged victim during her testimony.

According to TSN, “Unbeknownst to the complainant, someone from the public tried to find her in the courthouse, but the person was intercepted by the officer in charge of the case, court heard.”

The report explains:

“Crown prosecutors mentioned last week that someone had gone to the floor where the CCTV room is located, looking to speak with the complainant. No contact was made, prosecutor Meaghan Cunningham said.

Carroccia said she was informed that a lawyer unrelated to the trial was discussing the case on the radio either May 2 or 5 and disclosed what floor and room the complainant was testifying from.

“Many lawyers have sought authorization to watch this trial by Zoom, which is obviously not an issue, but if it becomes an issue, then those authorizations will be revoked,” the judge said at the time.

“Not only are there non-publication orders in place, but we are trying to conduct a trial here – why people feel the need to insert themselves into our trial, I do not know.”

The complainant testified via CCTV over nine days, including more than a full week of cross-examination by the defence.”

The reports hint at scary aspects in the procedure, especially when it comes to the safety of the alleged victim. It is possible more details come out on who attempted to reach her, and most importantly why. Her life could have been threatened and her identity exposed in the most dangerous way. 

It was also revealed that the accused players have been feeling intimidated by the protestors outside and that when they were first interviewed by Hockey Canada, they felt they had no other choice but to collaborate. Per TSN:

“These statements by these defendants … in my view, were achieved through such significant unfairness in a process that was an absolute no-win for them – whether you call it compelled or coerced, they effectively were left with a choice, I suppose, but really no choice at all,” Ontario Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas said at a pretrial hearing on the issue last November.

“The fashion in which Ms. Robitaille chose to obtain these statements … leads me to the conclusion that it would render the trial process unfair if they were admitted.”

TSN later writes:

“Even before Robitaille interviewed any of the players, Hockey Canada’s lawyer offered to hand over the statements and the rest of her investigative file to police, without the need for a court order, court heard.

Police turned down the offer, but let both Robitaille and Hockey Canada know that they had reasonable grounds to believe several players had sexually assaulted the complainant and were seeking a production order for the file.

Robitaille did not disclose that to the players before interviewing them, court heard.”

Police launched a criminal investigation into the allegations in the days that followed the encounter but closed it without charges in 2019.

The defence and the Crown have both agreed to the proceedings before only a judge.