NHL players face accusations of sexual assault during the World Youth Championship in Canada

Five players from the Canadian national hockey team Who participated in World Junior Championships in Canada 2018 They were formally charged with sexually assaulting a woman in London, OntarioToday, Tuesday, January 30th.

Read also

Francisco Fernandez

Participating players who currently belong to National Hockey League (NHL) We are Mike McLeod and Cal Footeand center and defense respectively for the New Jersey Devils; Carter Hartgoaltender for the Philadelphia Flyers; Dillon DubeCalgary Flames Centre. In addition to Alex Formentona former Ottawa Senators forward who currently plays in the Swiss Professional League.

All participants They were instructed to surrender themselves to the authorities London Police stated that their respective legal teams. Players also received special permission from their teams to be absent indefinitely.

the case Involving players in sexual assault It exploded in May 2022 When the Canadian network TNS revealed this The woman has reached an agreement with Hockey Canada (the sports governing body in that country), about these accusations.

But after what was reported from the above-mentioned media,… Government of Canada He announced it in June Freeze federal public funding for Hockey Canada Until the organization presented the full findings of its two-year investigation and implemented a plan for change within the sport. By July of the same year, Canadian police reopened the case.

For its part, Hockey Canada confirmed that it learned of the case a day after the events and immediately began the investigation process and contacted the police.

The five players pleaded not guilty:

Through their legal teams, the five players involved in the case pleaded not guilty, and asked the public not to exercise any media judgment until they know the authorities’ ruling.

• Alex Formenton: “He will vigorously defend his innocence and ask people not to rush to judgment without hearing all the evidence,” his lawyers said.

• Mike McLeod: “He denies any criminal offense. He is not guilty and will vigorously defend his case,” his lawyers said.

• Cal Foot: His lawyer said, “He is innocent of the charges and will defend himself against this accusation to clear his name. The most important thing at this moment is the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial that every person in Canada deserves.” .

• Carter Hart: His lawyer said: “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the appropriate court.”

• Dillon Dube: “He will plead not guilty and maintain his innocence. His lawyers confirmed that he will defend the charges in court.

The teams to which the players belong are aware of the situation and have granted leaves of absence to their personnel to attend to criminal matters; but, They have referred any questions and comments regarding this directly to the NHL.