[ad_1]
The Hockey Canada logo is displayed on the jerseys of Canadian National Junior Team players during a training camp practice Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022, in Calgary, Alta.Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press
Five members of the 2018 World Junior Hockey Team have been told to surrender to police in London, Ont., on suspicion of sexual assault, two sources said.
The pending charges relate to an alleged gang sexual assault of a woman in a hotel room. The incident occurred after a fundraising gala for Hockey Canada was held in June 2018, where players were honored for winning the World Junior Championship.
He has not yet been charged but has been given a period of time to appear at London police headquarters, said two people familiar with the investigation, who asked not to be named because the Globe was not authorized to speak. Not yet. Case.
More than a year ago, London police filed an application with the Ontario Court of Justice seeking approval for various investigative measures. In a 94-page document, police said they had reasonable grounds to believe that five members of the 2018 team sexually assaulted the woman in a hotel room. The initial investigation by London police concluded in February 2019 without charges being laid.
The incident, which lasted more than five years, attracted national attention, engulfed Hockey Canada in controversy and prompted a parliamentary hearing into the organization’s governance.
In April 2022, the complainant, a woman identified in legal documents as EM, filed a lawsuit against Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League, and eight unnamed players, seeking $3.55 million in damages. Ta. In her claims, EM met some of the players at a bar after the gala and went with one of the players to a hotel room in London, where she said they had sex that was initially consensual. insisted.
But then, she claimed, seven other members of the team entered the room. She feared physical harm and at times attempted to leave, crying, according to her documents. She alleges that she was “directed, manipulated, and intimidated into staying and was then further sexually assaulted.”
In his complaint, EM claimed that he was instructed to state that he was sober during the video recording. The allegations have not been heard in court, and lawyers representing some of the players deny wrongdoing.
About a month after the lawsuit was filed, TSN reported that Hockey Canada had quietly settled the lawsuit, sparking a national firestorm. London police reopened the investigation about a year and a half ago amid new scrutiny.
The Globe has reached out to several of the attorneys known to represent the players for comment.
In an email, London Police spokesperson Const. Sandasha Bo declined to comment.
“We are unable to provide an update at this time. We will be reaching out to media outlets if we have any further information to share regarding this investigation,” she wrote.
From a report by Colin Freeze
[ad_2]
Source link
