One specific player gets blamed in closing arguments of 2018 World Junior assault case

Justice Maria Carroccia, the judge in the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team, announced earlier this week that she will announce her verdicts in the case at 10 a.m. ET on July 24.

The announcement was made after closing arguments in which prosecution described Michael McLeod as the “architect” of the “group sexual activity” at the center of the Hockey Canada sexual assault trial and said he told “outright lies” to portray the complainant as the aggressor in the sexual interactions of the night and advance a “false narrative.”

“There is no logical or plausible reason why he wouldn’t if it was a true fact,” Cunningham said. “McLeod lies repeatedly to Detective Newton in that interview but it’s the Crown’s position that he’s doing that in furtherance of a false narrative about what happened. The false narrative that Mr. McLeod is trying to craft is that he and his friends are completely innocent and that (E.M) was the instigator and the one demanding sexual activity.”

Cunningham also pointed to McLeod’s actions from the night to make the case that he was the instigator instead, and facilitated a group sexual encounter unbeknownst to E.M.

Carter Hart, Cal Foote, Dillon Dubé, Alex Formenton and Michael McLeod have been charged, claims that E.M., the complainant, willingly participated in sexual acts on the night of the alleged assaults in June 2018.

All five players pleaded not guilty at the commencement of the trial on April 22.

Among players called to the stand, but not accused of any wrongdoing, were Tyler Steenbergen, Boris Katchouk, Brett Howden, and Taylor Raddysh. None of the players appeared in person, with all being interviewed via video conferencing.

In their closing arguments, the lawyers for the defendants, Daniel Brown, lawyer for former Ottawa Senators forward Alex Formenton, accused complainant E.M. of perjury during his closing statement.

Brown characterized the encounter as straightforward. “It’s not complicated,” he said. “They were two young people who both wanted to have sex.”

Brown maintains that E.M. lied about what happened to police and has since carried those lies with her into court. She was embarrassed of her behavior and hoped to salvage a relationship with her then-boyfriend, Brown asserted.

Following London Police’s initial investigation in February 2019, the case was reopened in July 2022, and the five defendants were charged in January 2024.

Now we await the verdict at the end of July.