The police department in London, Ontario is scheduled to convene a news conference today at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the sexual assault charges brought against five former members of Team Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team.
The players implicated in these grave allegations include Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dubé of the Calgary Flames, Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, and former NHL player Alex Formenton, currently playing hockey in Switzerland. Each individual is facing charges of sexual assault, with Michael McLeod facing an additional charge of being party to the offence.
These charges are connected to an alleged incident that took place in June 2018 in a downtown hotel room in London, Ontario. After the case was initially closed without charges following the police investigation, it was reopened in 2022, leading to recent developments.
During a pre-trial hearing conducted via video link on Monday, lawyers representing the players did not appear in court, with a new hearing set for April 30. The Crown attorney has indicated that a substantial amount of case information will be provided to the lawyers on Monday.
It is important to note that four of the accused players are currently under contract with NHL teams and are on paid leave until the conclusion of this season. Both Hockey Canada and the NHL have launched their own investigations into the matter, with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stating that the league will refrain from making any official comments until the conclusion of the criminal case.
Hockey Canada, on the other hand, has not released a formal statement regarding the charges.
The news conference is expected to take place at RBC Place, a convention centre located in downtown London. CBC News will provide live coverage of the event.
For further details on this developing story, you can watch the news conference live on the CBC News website.
This article includes information from CBC journalists Meagan Fitzpatrick and Karen Pauls, who have been closely following this case.