Police in London, Ontario, say they have reason to believe a woman was sexually assaulted by five players from the Canada 2018 junior men’s hockey team.
They are seeking warrants to search a hotel room and the offices of law firms investigating the alleged assault, as well as a warrant to recover USB flash drives containing text messages between team players.
In legal documents filed in the Ontario law court and obtained by The Canadian Press, the lead investigator, Sgt. David Younan wrote that “given the totality of the circumstances” the woman identified as EM “was sexually assaulted.”
Younan said each of the suspects knew or should have known that EM had not consented to the sexual acts.
London police did not proceed with the charges after they were first made aware of the incident in 2018, but the case was reopened in 2022.
The alleged gang rape occurred the night of a Hockey Canada gala on June 18, 2018. Canada had won the gold medal at the world youth hockey championships in January in Buffalo.
A storm of criticism descended on Hockey Canada in May when TSN reported that hockey’s national governing body had settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount with EM, which had sought $3.55 million.
The revelation that Hockey Canada maintained a fund based on smaller hockey membership dues to pay for uninsured liabilities, including claims of sexual abuse, fueled the furor.
Sponsors withdrew, the national sports minister stripped Hockey Canada of federal funding and parliamentary committees called governing body leaders to the carpet in Ottawa. Hockey Canada President and CEO Scott Smith has resigned.
The repercussions continued throughout the summer and into the fall, with the entire board replaced with a new one on Saturday.
Police are also asking Uber to find the driver who took EM home after the alleged sexual assault.
While the heavily redacted request sets out the grounds for a case against the players, no charges have been filed and the views of the police have not been tested in court.
The app was compiled based on interviews with EM and a dozen players from the Canadian youth team.
EM went with a friend to a central London bar that night to meet some other friends. She said that she drank two sodas before reaching the bar. She kept drinking and started dancing with a player from the team and his friends.
They bought him drinks, and an older man also bought him a drink and told him to “take care” of the player, whom he was praising. The man was identified by police as someone who “commonly attends these functions as part of his occupation.”
EM told police that the player described his name as different from the name his friends called him. She also said that she was so intoxicated that she fell near the bathroom of the bar.
She described herself and the player as intoxicated when they got back to the hotel. After they had sex, EM thought that she observed the player texting and then two men came to her room.
After going to the bathroom, she says she came back to find “seven or eight” men in the room. The player confirmed in interviews with police that he texted his teammates to come to his room and said that EM “seemed okay with the guys in the room, in fact, she seemed a little flirtatious.” “.
EM described the sexual acts she felt compelled to perform, saying players laughed and joked at her expense. She said that she was slapped on the buttocks so hard that it hurt.
When she cried in the bathroom and got dressed to leave, she was convinced to stay. When she EM left the room, she returned briefly to look for a ring that she had lost.
The next morning, her mother reported the incident to the London police. Her husband contacted Hockey Canada and provided a photo of the player who accompanied EM to the hotel that night.
Police say the player recorded two short videos of EM that night in his hotel room asking for his consent to what was happening.
The police say that they also have an Instagram conversation between EM and the player, in which the player asks if he had gone to the police and says “you need to talk to your mom right now and make things right with the police before they this is coming to an end.” far. This is a serious matter that she is misrepresenting and could have significant implications for many people, including you.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on December 19, 2022.