LONDON, Ontario — The judge handling the trial of five Canadian hockey players accused of sexual assault dismissed the jury Friday after a complaint that defense attorneys were laughing at some of the jurors.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will now handle the high-profile case on her own.
The issue arose Thursday after one of the jurors submitted a note indicating that several jury members felt they were being judged and laughed at by lawyers representing one of the accused as they came into the courtroom each day. The lawyers, Daniel Brown and Hilary Dudding, denied the allegation.
Carroccia said she had not seen any behavior that would cause her concern, but concluded the jury’s negative impression of the defense could impact their impartiality and was a problem that could not be remedied.
McLeod, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton were charged with sexual assault last year for an incident with a then-20-year-old woman that allegedly took place when they were in London, Ontario, for a Hockey Canada gala celebrating their championship at that year’s world junior tournament. McLeod faces an additional charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault.
All have pleaded not guilty. None of them are on an NHL roster or have an active contract with a team in the league.
The woman, appearing via a video feed from another room in the courthouse, has testified that she was drunk, naked and scared when men started coming into a hotel room and that she felt she had to go along with what the men wanted her to do. Prosecutors contend the players did what they wanted without taking steps to ensure she was voluntarily consenting to sexual acts.
Defense attorneys have cross-examined her for days and suggested she actively participated in or initiated sexual activity because she wanted a “wild night.” The woman said she has no memory of saying those things and that the men should have been able to see she wasn’t in her right mind.
A police investigation into the incident was closed without charges in 2019. Hockey Canada ordered its own investigation but dropped it in 2020 after prolonged efforts to get the woman to participate. Those efforts were restarted amid an outcry over a settlement reached by Hockey Canada and others with the woman in 2022.
Police announced criminal charges in early 2024, saying they were able to proceed after collecting new evidence they did not detail.
