Five ice hockey players found not guilty in Canada sexual assault case

Five Canadian ice hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman were all acquitted by an Ontario judge on Thursday.

In a packed courtroom, Justice Maria Carroccia reviewed testimony and evidence from the highly publicised eight-week trial over the course of several hours before declaring the men not guilty.

The former players for Canada's world junior hockey team were accused of assaulting the woman, known as EM, in a hotel room in 2018 in London, Ontario, where they had attended a Hockey Canada gala.

Justice Carroccia said she did not find EM's evidence "credible or reliable". She added that "the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me".

The central issue of the trial was whether EM, who was 20 at the time, had consented to every sexual act in the room that night.

Lawyers for the players contended that she asked the men to have sex with her and they believed she gave consent.

Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton and Carter Hart were all players with the National Hockey League (NHL) when the allegations surfaced, although one was playing in Europe. Only one, Mr Hart, testified in his own defence.

The trial attracted significant attention in Canada, and so many people attended court to hear the ruling on Thursday that clerks had to open two additional overflow rooms.

In explaining her ruling, Justice Carroccia pointed to inconsistencies in EM's testimony, including about who had bought drinks that night, and said EM's statements reflected an "uncertain memory" that did not line up with evidence presented in the trial.

There were differences in what the woman told police investigators and those for Hockey Canada, which settled a C$3.5m ($2.5m; £1.9m) lawsuit for an undisclosed sum in 2022, as well, the judge said.

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