Four players from the NHL are currently on leave after being charged with sexual assault in an alleged incident that took place at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Police reported Monday that the alleged incident occurred on June 18, 2018, in London, Ontario, following an event that honored the gold-medal-winning World Junior team.
Along with the five members, the rest of Canada’s 2018 team were suspended from Hockey Canada activities on March 23, 2023. The suspension will stay in place until the investigation is complete.
According to the police, the players met the victim at a bar in downtown London following a Hockey Canada event. The victim followed one of the accused to a room at the Delta Hotel.
The investigation was originally closed in February 2019 without any charges filed, but was reopened on July 28, 2022, after additional findings by the London police. The Canadian police released a public statement apologizing to the victim for taking six years to file these charges.
Chief Thai Truong and Detective Sgt. Katherine Dann met with media outlets on Monday to provide details on where the case stands.
“I want to extend on behalf of the London Police Service my sincerest apology to the victim and to her family for the amount of time that it has taken to reach this,” Truong said to ESPN.com.
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“This should not take this long. It shouldn’t take years and years for us to arrive at the outcome of today,” he added. “But I can assure you, I am confident, confident that this will not happen again,” Truong said.
It was announced that Michael McLeod, a forward on the New Jersey Devils, was charged with two counts of sexual assault. Cal Foote, Dillion Dube, Carter Hart, and Alex Formenton were all charged with one count of sexual assault.
Foote, a defenseman, who is also a part of the New Jersey Devils, is on leave with McLeod. Hart, a goalie on the Philadelphia Flyers, is on leave, and Dube, a forward, is on leave from the Calgary Flames. Formenton, who was recently playing in Switzerland, but his NHL playing rights belong to the Ottawa Senators, is on leave from the team in Switzerland. While the four NHL players are on leave, they are also all free agents at the end of the season.
The NHL did not learn about the alleged incident until four years later in May 2022 and decided to take action and create their investigation on the case.
During a press conference at the NHL All-Star Weekend, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he does not believe the four players will be returning to their teams this season.
The first court hearing in the case was Monday, where no players were present, no charges were read, and no pleas were entered. The case has now been adjourned until April 30, 2024.