Hockey sexual attack trial: How we were given right here and what’s subsequent

Content caution: This tale comprises allegations of sexual attack.

LONDON, Ont. — After seven eventful weeks in courtroom, the Crown and the defence have completed presenting proof and calling witnesses within the trial accusing 5 former NHLers of a 2018 sexual attack.

On June 9, all 5 number one legal professionals for the accused will get started presenting their ultimate submissions. Ahead of that section of the trial, it’s time to appear again on the key occasions that formed how we were given right here, and what we think to occur subsequent.

June 17-19: Members of the Canadian international junior males’s and sledge hockey groups collect in London, Ont., for a gala match celebrating their gold medal wins.

June 18-19: An alleged sexual attack happens in Room 209 of the Delta Armouries resort in London of E.M., because the complainant within the case is understood as a result of a e-newsletter ban.

June 19: E.M.’s mom and her mom’s spouse name London Police Service and Hockey Canada to file an incident on the Delta Armouries. Glen McCurdie, then Hockey Canada’s vice-president of insurance coverage and chance control, calls Henein Hutchison attorney Danielle Robitaille. McCurdie experiences the incident to the London police.

June 22: LPS Detective Stephen Newton interviews E.M.

June 30-July 11: Robitaille interviews 10 of 19 the avid gamers at the 2018 international juniors workforce as a part of her investigation.

Sept. 14: While waiting for E.M.’s participation, Robitaille submits an “interim report” to Hockey Canada.

Nov. 17: Det. Newton interviews Michael McLeod in particular person.

Nov. 24: Newton interviews Alex Formenton in particular person.

Dec. 18: Newton interviews Dillon Dube by means of convention name.

Feb. 7: Newton closes the LPS investigation, figuring out there are inadequate grounds for fees.

Robitaille closes her investigation for Hockey Canada.

April 20: A agreement of declare is filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, searching for $3.55 million in damages for the plaintiff. Named within the swimsuit are Hockey Canada, the Canadian Hockey League and 8 “John Doe” avid gamers.

May 26: A file by way of TSN’s Rick Westhead unearths Hockey Canada had settled a civil lawsuit with a girl, who alleged she used to be sexually assaulted by way of 8 males, together with individuals of the 2018 Canadian males’s international junior workforce, after an match in London honouring the workforce in June 2018.

The NHL opens an investigation into the incident.

June 20: A Parliamentary committee starts hearings into Hockey Canada’s operations and its investigation into the incident. Executives Tom Renney and Scott Smith testify.

June 22: Minister of Sport Pascale St-Onge freezes Hockey Canada’s federal price range.

July 14: Hockey Canada, by means of Robitaille, reopens its investigation and mandates that every one avid gamers from the 2018 workforce cooperate or face a ban from long run sanctioned occasions.

July 18: The Canadian Press experiences that Hockey Canada were the use of minor hockey charges for a fund used for uninsured liabilities, considered one of which used to be sexual attack claims.

July 19: Hockey Canada declares it might not use the fund for such claims.

July 22: LPS reopens its investigation, with Det. Lyndsey Ryan as the brand new lead investigator.

July 22: Police say they’re investigating allegations of a gaggle sexual attack by way of Canadian international junior avid gamers on the 2003 match in Halifax. The investigation stays ongoing.

July 26: Robitaille testifies ahead of the Parliamentary committee that E.M. agreed on to take part within the reopened investigation. Robitaille does no longer title the 8 John Does.

July 27: Smith tells the Parliamentary committee listening to that Hockey Canada had paid out $8.9 million to settle 21 sexual misconduct proceedings. In next days, more than one sponsors pause or sever sponsorships with Hockey Canada.

Oct. 1-18: Robitaille interviews McLeod, Dube and Formenton.

Oct. 13: Smith leaves his place as CEO and Hockey Canada’s whole board of administrators resigns.

Robitaille submits her 2nd finished report back to Hockey Canada, which has no longer been made public.

July 4: Katherine Henderson, former CEO of Curling Canada, is called new CEO and president of Hockey Canada.

Nov. 14: Hockey Canada says it’s interesting the findings of Robitaille’s file.

Jan. 28, 30: The avid gamers are charged: McLeod is charged by way of the LPS with two counts of sexual attack, together with one in the case of helping within the offence. Dube, Formenton, Cal Foote and Carter Hart are each and every charged with one depend of sexual attack.

Feb. 2: The NHL concludes its investigation. Both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA govt director Marty Walsh say they’re going to wait to peer how the felony court cases spread ahead of taking motion.

Feb. 5: LPS leader Thai Truong apologizes to E.M. in a media convention “for the amount of time that it has taken” to put fees.

Nov. 28: Justice Bruce Thomas, the choose overseeing the pre-trial motions and hearings, regulations the second one Hockey Canada investigation — comprising interviews of the avid gamers in addition to E.M. carried out by way of Robitaille — is inadmissible for the trial.

Justice Maria Carroccia, a former defence lawyer from Windsor, Ont., is called as trial choose.

April 22: The trial starts. Charges are learn in courtroom in entrance of the accused for the primary time. All plead no longer to blame to their fees. Jury variety starts.

April 25: Carroccia regulations a mistrial at some point into the court cases, mentioning jury tainting as a priority after a defence attorney and a juror pass paths at a neighborhood marketplace all through a lunch damage.

April 28: Trial begins all over again with a brand new jury.

April 30: Text messages from a gaggle chat involving avid gamers who have been in Room 209, the place the alleged attack came about, in June 2018 are presented as proof. Notable is a couple of consecutive texts from McLeod: “Who wants to be in a 3 way quick” that used to be signed “209- mikey.”

April 30: Taylor Raddysh, the primary member of the workforce to testify, seems by means of Zoom from Virginia and significantly says he wasn’t within the room for extraordinarily lengthy and, “I don’t have any recollection of what I saw in that room.” 

May 2: Boris Katchouk testifies by means of Zoom from Pennsylvania that he used to be in Room 209 for a couple of mins and didn’t discuss to a girl mendacity on a mattress ahead of he left.

May 2: E.M. seems by means of CCTV from a distinct room within the courthouse, her first of 9 days at the stand. She testifies she had 12 alcoholic beverages all through the evening in query.

May 5: E.M. testifies that once consensual intercourse with McLeod, she used to be sexually assaulted and feared for her protection with such a lot of avid gamers within the room. She says the avid gamers mentioned sexually assaulting her with a golfing membership. She additionally testifies she doesn’t keep in mind the recording of the 2 cellular phone movies wherein she seems to provide consent. “I’m saying what they’re wanting me to say. … I don’t think it reflected how I was feeling,” she says.

May 7: E.M. testifies she wasn’t a prepared player within the occasions of that evening: “Feeling like I was completely out of my body, I didn’t feel like I was an active participant when I was that numb,” she tells the courtroom. After intense cross-examination by way of Hart’s attorney towards the top of the day, E.M. breaks down and cries.

May 14: E.M.’s final day at the stand. She testifies that once she participated within the civil lawsuit, it used to be her figuring out that no avid gamers can be publicly named.

May 14-17: Former participant Tyler Steenbergen testifies from Alberta that Foote and Dube each and every phoned him to invite him to not inform Hockey Canada investigators what he had observed them do on June 19, 2018. Steenbergen says he “partially” noticed Foote do the splits over E.M. and Dube slap her buttocks: “It wasn’t hard, but it didn’t seem soft either.”

May 16: Second jury is brushed aside after a juror sends a observe to Carroccia pronouncing individuals of the Formenton defence workforce have been making a laugh of the jurors as they walked in. Defence effectively lobbies to have the trial proceed as judge-only. 

May 20-22: Brett Howden testifies from Las Vegas. His reminiscence of earlier statements and proof is again and again puzzled by way of the Crown, to the purpose he’s handled as necessarily a adverse witness. Howden breaks down and cries after being requested by way of defence attorney Lisa Carnelos about telling his female friend, who’s now his spouse, concerning the incident.

May 26: Carroccia regulations for the second one time in two days that textual content messages between Howden and Raddysh are inadmissible. At the center of the problem are texts wherein Howden instructed Raddysh he noticed Dube smacking “the girl’s (butt) so hard, it looked like it hurt so bad.”

May 27: Howden concludes his testimony by way of denying to defence attorney Julianna Greenspan that he used to be seeking to reduce his function within the incident. A video of the London police interview with McLeod is proven. Notably, McLeod says within the interview he checked “five times” with E.M. all through the evening to peer if she used to be OK and denies that any one had despatched a textual content message inviting avid gamers to the room for intercourse. 

May 28: A video of the police interview with Formenton is proven. Court may be performed the audio recording of Newton’s telephone interview with Dube. Neither point out E.M. being smacked at the buttocks. Newton additionally testifies he didn’t have wisdom of a gaggle chat wherein avid gamers mentioned the incident.

May 29: The Crown closes its case. Hart takes the stand, the one one of the most 5 accused to take action, and testifies that his sexual touch with E.M. used to be consensual, that he noticed E.M. dangle palms with Formenton as they went to the toilet in combination and he wouldn’t have tolerated anything else “disrespectful” taking place to the lady. Hart is challenged again and again by way of the Crown about his reminiscence of occasions.

June 2: Lawyers for the defence say they have got no additional witnesses to name or proof to introduce. The Crown has no additional questions.

June 9: All 5 number one legal professionals for the accused will get started presenting their ultimate submissions within the case. When they’re completed, the Crown will apply with its ultimate arguments. After that, Carroccia will inform the courtroom when she expects to provide her findings and her ruling. That actual date isn’t anticipated to be quickly, even if expectancies are that the defence will push for faster than later.