Ice hockey sexual assault case: Court to hear legal arguments

LONDON, Ontario –

A judge in London, Ontario will today hear legal arguments in the sexual assault case against five members of the 2018 Canadian junior hockey team.

Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Michael McLeod, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault earlier this year stemming from an incident that allegedly took place in the city in June 2018.

McLeod also faces an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to a crime.”

Lawyers for the players said their clients plan to defend themselves against the charges and all five are expected to plead not guilty.

A jury trial is scheduled to begin on April 22 next year.

By then, several weeks had been allocated for legal arguments, but at this time the issues raised at these hearings cannot be discussed due to a publication ban intended to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024.