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Dec 14, 2024
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LONDON, Ont. — Police in London, Ont., are providing an update on their investigation into the sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team. Here are the latest developments (all times are ET):
2:45 p.m.
The police officer in charge of the sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team says concurrent investigations “did add complexity” to her probe.
Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann declined to go into detail about why the NHL and Hockey Canada investigations made the police investigation harder.
Meanwhile, the chief of police in London, Ont., says the officers who initially looked into the complaint in 2018 are no longer on the investigative team.
The case was dropped in 2019 when police found there were “insufficient grounds” to lay charges.
The probe was picked back up in 2022, and police charged Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod late last month.
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2:40 p.m.
The investigator in charge of the sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team says a review committee has not probed why the case was dropped five years ago.
Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann says the case was not referred to the Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review Committee when officers deemed there were “insufficient grounds” to lay charges.
Now that five people are facing charges, she says the committee will have to wait until the case makes its way through the courts before looking into it.
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2:20 p.m.
The lead investigator on the sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team says one of the accused faces an additional charge for allegedly aiding another person in carrying out the assault.
Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann says Michael McLeod is charged with both sexual assault and being a party to the offence.
The other four accused are charged solely with sexual assault.
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2:10 p.m.
The chief of police in London, Ont., is apologizing to the woman at the centre of a sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team.
Thai Truong said he was sorry for how long it took to lay charges in the case, stemming from an incident in 2018.
The probe was dropped in 2019, when Truong says officers determined there were “insufficient grounds” to lay charges.
Police reviewed that investigation in 2022, when Det. Sgt. Katherine Dann says officers found new evidence that police say helped lead to the charges.
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9:50 a.m.
The sexual assault case of five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team has been put over to the end of April.
Lawyers for all five players appeared via video in a London court for the first hearing in the case this morning.
None of the players were present.
The case was adjourned to April 30 following a brief hearing.
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9:40 a.m.
The court hearing for five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team charged with sexual assault is now underway.
The players are not in court and their lawyers are appearing via video.
Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod were charged with sexual assault in the case late last month.
A court document shows McLeod is facing an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence.”
This is the first court appearance for the case.
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9:20 a.m.
Members of the media are inside a London courtroom awaiting the start of a court hearing for the five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team charged with sexual assault.
The hearing is listed as a video hearing, meaning it is unlikely the players will appear in person.
The case is coming before the courts for the first time hours before London police are scheduled to provide an update on their investigation.
The police probe was initially closed without charges months after the alleged incident but investigators reopened it in 2022.
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8:30 a.m.
A line is forming outside a London, Ont., courthouse where the sexual assault case against five former members of Canada’s world junior hockey team is set to be heard today.
Television cameras have also set up outside the courthouse during the foggy morning hours.
Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod were charged with sexual assault in the case late last month. A court document shows McLeod is facing an additional charge of sexual assault for “being a party to the offence.”
Lawyers for the players have said their clients will defend themselves against the allegations.
The charges related to an alleged incident at a hotel in the southwestern Ontario city in June 2018.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2024.
The Canadian Press