Team Canada: “Significant” police resources committed to investigation into 2003 alleged sexual assault

The investigation into an alleged sexual assault involving players on Canada’s 2003 World Junior team had been ongoing, however on Wednesday, TSN’s Rick Westhead reported that police have committed “significant” resources to the investigation.

In the summer of 2022, right after allegations of a sexual assault involving players from the 2018 roster of the junior’s team, a woman stepped forward to say that she was “gang raped” by members of the 2003 Canadian World Juniors team. From Westhead’s report at the time, it was uncovered allegations claiming that more than a half-dozen players on the 2003 World Junior team were recorded during the tournament having sex with a woman who was naked and non-responsive.

Halifax police were once believed to have the names of at least two members of the 2003 World Junior hockey team who may have appeared in a video of an alleged group sexual assault nearly two decades ago. A person who was shown a video of the alleged incident after it occurred in 2003 said reported the identities of two players he recognized in the video in a recent interview with police. The source informed he told Halifax police he recognized the 2003 World Junior player holding the camcorder at the beginning of the video because he held the camera up to his face.

Once the scandal was made public last summer, several members of the 2003 roster stepped forward to deny their involvement of the allegations. Most have said that they weren’t even aware of the allegations until they became public. Former NHLers PA Parenteau, Carlo Colaiacovo, Dan Paille and Jordin Tootoo have all cleared their names but Minnesota Wild netminder Marc Andre Fleury declined to comment on the allegations when confronted by Quebec’s La Presse newspaper later that summer.

Westhead added to his report on Wednesday saying: “Police have continued in recent weeks trying to contact witnesses who may have information to share about the allegations.”

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