Five players from the 2018 Canada World Junior hockey team have been acquitted of sexual assault charges following a recent court decision. The verdict was announced by Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia in a London, Ontario courtroom, confirming that the evidence from the victim was deemed ’not credible or reliable.'

“Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of E.M. and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the Crown cannot meet its onus on any of the counts before me,” Carroccia stated.

The defendants—Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, and Callan Foote—all pleaded not guilty to the accusations linked to an incident at a hotel on July 19, 2018, during a gala honoring the team’s success at the World Junior Championships.

Justice Carroccia categorized the victim’s claims as ambiguous. The case also highlighted that some defendants had contentious narratives about what occurred that night.

Previous testimonies revealed that McLeod had invited the woman back to his hotel after meeting her at a bar, with the prosecution asserting that he facilitated a situation leading to the alleged assault.

Defense attorney statements indicated that the woman had given her consent for the sexual acts, contrasting her claim that consent was not given. A total of nine witnesses were examined throughout the trial, most of whom provided remote testimonies.

As the case progressed over a six-week period, it experienced shifts in judicial handling, transitioning from a jury to a judge to evade unnecessary retrials.